Finding A Family
by bluewaters99
Summary: A fourteen-year-old girl with a huge surprise arrives in Hawaii and gets involved in Five-0's latest case. Can the team get her to trust them in enough time to save her life? WARNING: CONTAINS THE SPANKING OF CHILDREN AND TEENS IN LATER CHAPTERS. CONTAINS THE MENTION OF PAST CHILD ABUSE AND CHILD NEGLECT!
1. Chapter 1

**When A fourteen-year-old girl with a huge surprise arrives in Hawaii, she gets involved in Five 0's latest case. Can the team get her to trust them in enough time to save her life?**

 **WARNING: Contains the spanking of children and teens in later chapters.**

 **WARNING: Contains the mention of past child abuse and neglect.**

Steve McGarrett walked into the Five-0 headquarters, and had to stop and smile at the scene in front of him.

Kono and Abby were sitting in chairs, with their backs to the door. Chin was standing behind Abby, braiding her hair. Danny was standing behind Kono, braiding hers. Lou was standing beside Chin.

Danny and Lou were teaching Chin how to French braid hair.

"Is this the Five-0 headquarters or a beauty salon?" Steve asked sternly, as he walked over to his teammates and Abby.

"We are trying to stop a case of child cruelty." Lou said, as he hit a couple keys on the computer table. "Unless you would like for your niece to continue looking like that."

A picture of Sarah appeared on the monitor. The young girl's hair was haphazardly twisted and tied in what appeared to be a very poor imitation of a braid.

"Seriously, Chin?" Steve asked with a raised eyebrow. "As an officer of the law, I fear that it is my official duty to arrest you."

"I know." Chin sighed. "I did my best."

Steve laughed, then added. "You do know that you are taking hair styling tips from a bald man and a man with a dead rat on his head."

"Hey, Steven." Danny objected. "Lay off the hair."

"I happen to be an expert at styling little girl's hair." Lou said. "When Samantha was seven, the woman that normally did their hair before a dance recital was sick. I braided ten little heads of hair and was a hero."

"I think Chin is improving." Kono said. "Pretty soon, he'll be an expert."

"Maholo Cuz." Chin replied.

Then the young woman smirked and said. "But Abby, you may want to be cautious. This isn't the first time, Chin played hair stylist."

"Don't worry, I won't do that again." Chin said with a wince. "Auntie's wooden spoon taught me my lesson."

"I was six." Kono explained. "Chin was fifteen. I asked him to brush my hair, and he tied sticks and rocks in it."

"Hey, that's not how it happened." Chin defended himself. "You did not ask, you pestered me for an hour."

"You big bully." Abby said, as she playfully slapped his arm.

"I paid for my crime." Chin said. "Kono's Mom was a pro with a wooden spoon. Those things hurt."

"You tie any sticks or rocks in my hair, and I will find my own wooden spoon." Abby threatened.

"I didn't know you were that kinky." Chin smiled seductively, as he leaned down and kissed her lips.

"Alright you two, get a room." Danny said.

"The room will have to wait." Steve said, his face now serious. "We've got a case."

"I guess that is my cue to leave." Abby said, as she stood up.

"It's up to you." Steve replied. "The HPD will be on this too."

"Might as well stay then." Abby said. "You guys always seem to have the best Intel."

Everyone gathered around the computer table as Steve inserted a flash drive and started typing.

"The Governor received a heads up from Boston." Steve said. "Meet Markus Colemen." A picture of a man in his late thirties appeared on the screen. He was tall with broad shoulders and long brown hair.

"He was tried and convicted of multiple counts of murder, drug trafficking, assaults, and a whole hell of a lot more. Coleman was responsible for over half of the drugs that went through Boston. He was being transported to a federal prison, when he escaped a week ago." Steve continued.

"And they think he's coming here?" Danny asked.

"Yeah." Steve replied. "He has no ties here that we know of, but all of the evidence points to him being here."

"He's probably looking to restart his business here." Chin said. "Which means we should check all the local dealers and see if he's contacted them."

"According to the Boston PD." Steve said. "His choice drug is Meth, very pure Meth. It's high octane and very easy to OD on it."

"I'll call Max and tell him to give us a head's up on any bodies coming in as OD's." Lou said.

"Danny and I'll go talk to Kamakona and see if he's heard of a new player coming to the island." Steve said.

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Kamakona was inside his shrimp truck, serving the customers. A young girl, whom he figured was around fourteen, walked up to the truck. The native Hawaiian couldn't help but notice the remarkable likeness she had to Steve.

Same eyes, same hair color, and even same clothes. She was wearing a pair of beige cargo pants, blue tee shirt, and brown boots. She was tall for her age and lean, but he could see that her arms were muscular.

"What can I get for you this fine morning?" Kamakona asked with a friendly smile.

"I'm looking for a man named Kamakona." She replied. "It's kinda of a private little chat I want to have with him."

"I'm Kamakona." He replied, curious as to why she wanted to see him.

"I'll take a Shrimp Gumbo." She said, reaching in her pocket and pulling out some money. She laid the money on the counter and said. "Is there a secluded place where I can wait on my order?"

The man looked down at the five one hundred dollar bills, his curiosity really high. "Come on in."

The girl opened the door and walked inside, Kamakona nodded to a small table and she sat down.

"Why do you want to see me?" Kamakona asked, placing the money in front of her. He was a business man and was always looking for ways to improve his revenue, but he was not about to take advantage of a child. He sat down across from her.

"A few years ago, you knew a man named Brent Woodall." She said.

"Yes, he was a real bad cat." Kamakona said. "Not someone you would want to mess with."

"I don't want to mess with Woodall." The girl said. "I want to mess with Markus Coleman."

"Who is he?"

"A real bad cat." The girl replied. "Who has just used up his ninth life."

"What is your name, kid?"

"I prefer not to answer that, Sir." She said. "Do you know where I can find Woodall?"

"No." Kamakona said. "And I suggest you don't look for him, he's bad news."

"I really need to find him." She said, sliding the money towards him. "If you give me a few hours, I can double that."

"Where is a kid gonna get that kind of money?" Kamakona asked, as he tried to think of an excuse to leave for a moment. He wanted to phone Steve and have him meet the girl. He didn't want the young girl to find Woodall, he was a dangerous man.

Don't worry, I'm not a welcher." She said.

"Give me a minute, I'll get his address." He said, as he stood.

"Hey, Cuz." Flippa said, as he stuck his head in the small room. "Steve and Danny wants you."

"Be right there." Kamakono replied.

"Better hurry, Bruh." Flippa said. "They got that whole official five 0 vibe going on. They scaring the paying customers."

Five 0?" The girl said, as she stood up. "As in the police?"

Then she turned and bolted from the truck.

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Steve and Danny were standing a few feet from the shrimp truck, when they saw a young girl run past them.

"Stop her!" They heard Kamakono shout. "She's in bad trouble!"

Steve and Danny looked at each other, then ran after the girl. They had no idea what was going on, but Kamakono sounded pretty frantic.

The girl picked up speed, and so did the two men. Steve's longer legs gave him an advantage and he reached the girl after a few yards. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her slender waist, stopping her and insuring that the sudden stop did not cause her to fall.

"You've got no right to stop me." The girl said, as Steve let go and she spun around and faced him. By that time, Danny had caught up to them.

"Why'd you run?" Danny asked.

"Because two idiots were chasing me, Sir." She said. She was talking to Danny, but she was glaring at Steve.

"Why are you giving me that look?" Steve asked.

"Because you are a lousy son of a bitch who I would love to douse with gasoline and set on fire." She said, still glaring. Her voice was hard. "Sir."

"That was my first impression of him also." Danny said with a smirk. "But he kinda grows on you after awhile. Like a wart."

Kamakono walked over to them. "Glad you stopped her." He said.

"Yeah, why exactly did we stop her?" Danny wanted to know.

"She came here asking about Brent Woodall." Kamakono answered. "And some cat named Marcus Coleman. I don't know this Coleman dude, but Woodall is a very bad man. He's into drugs, prostitution, and a lot more."

"Why where you looking for these men?" Steve asked.

"None of your business." She replied.

Danny couldn't help but smirk. The girl looked like Steve, only her hair was longer. It came down just past her chin.

"Answer the question." Steve demanded, returning the girl's glare with one of his own.

The famous Navy Seal Commander Steve Mcgarrett glare, that could scare a hardened criminal, only made the young teen glare harder.

"Arrest me, or let me go." She said.

"She reminds me of you, Steve." Danny laughed. "She even dresses like you."

Steve glared at the other man, but was very surprised when the girl reacted to the statement also. The young teenager kicked Danny hard in the groin, and then slammed her fist into the side of his face when he doubled over in pain.

"I am nothing like him!" She exclaimed.

"Hey!" Steve exclaimed, as he grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her away from his partner before she could do any more damage. "What's your problem?"

"Let me go!" She screamed, as she aimed a hard kick to his shin. Steve saw the kick coming and stepped back, causing her to miss him.

"Knock it off." He growled in a low voice.

"Go to hell." She growled back.

"Fine, we do this the hard way." Steve said, as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs. He snapped one end on the girl's wrist, and the other to a sign post. Then he released her other arm and turned his attention back to Danny.

Danny was standing upright now, but was still in pain. Kamakono was standing beside him, with a gentle hand on his back.

"You ok, Bruh?" Kamakono asked.

"Yeah." Danny replied. "Kid's got a great right cross." He gently touched his right eye, which was sore.

"What's going on, Kamakono?" Steve asked.

"All's I know is that she was looking for Coleman and Woodall." The other man replied. "Told me she'd double this if I helped her find them." He handed the five hundred dollars to Steve.

"Serves me right for relaying on old Intel." The teen said, glaring at the men. "I didn't know you turned into a snitch."

"I ain't no snitch." Kamakono said. "But I ain't 'bout to let a little kid tangle with these men."

"Where'd you get the money?" Steve asked the girl.

"The tooth fairy." She replied.

"Funny, looks like you've got all of your teeth." Danny said.

"Let's take this somewhere private." Steve said, motioning towards the gathering crowd.

He walked back over to the girl. "I'm going to un-cuff you, behave yourself."

He removed the handcuffs, and placed a hand on her arm. "Let's go."

The girl had no choice but to walk between Steve and Danny, she knew she had to wait for a chance to escape.

They made it to Danny's Camaro and Steve opened the door and raised the front seat up, then motioned for her to get into the back seat.

"You have got no right to force me to go with you." She said, still glaring at Steve.

He had no idea why she kept glaring at him, but it was getting annoying.

"For starters there is assault on a peace officer." Steve growled. "Resisting arrest is another good charge."

"Keep pissing me off and you can add murder to that list of charges, asshole." She growled back.

"Whoa." Danny said, stepping between them. "Everyone just needs to settle down."

"Tell Popeye over there." The teen said. "He's the one being an as…."

"Watch your language." Danny reprimanded, his voice stern.

"Sorry, Sir." She said automatically responding to his tone. "But I really hate him."

"What the hell….." Steve started, but stopped when Danny held out a hand to silence him.

"Let me handle this." He said, then turned back to the girl. "What has Steve done to you that you find so horrible? You've just met him. Although I hated him the first time I met him also, but I had my reasons."

"And I have mine, Sir. You seem like a nice man, I want to apologize for kicking and hitting you. I have a temper and impulse control issues at times. I had no right taking my frustrations out on you." She said sincerely.

"I appreciate the apology." Danny said.

"My business with Coleman and Woodall is just that, Sir." She said. "My business. Please understand that and let me go. I have to find them, it is very important."

"So is keeping you from getting killed." Danny said. "These men are not above killing children."

"I am damn hard to kill, Sir."

Danny chuckled then said, "I don't doubt that."

"So you'll let me go?"

"No." Danny replied. "There is no way I am letting a kid go chasing after those men."

"One problem with your theory." The teen said. "I am not a kid."

"No, but you are a young teenager."

"I can take care of myself."

"Of that, I have no doubt." Danny said. Then his voice grew stern again. "In the car."

"Yes Sir." She sighed, then slipped into the backseat.

Steve and Danny climbed in and Steve started the car.

"Buckle up." Steve said, turning his head towards the girl.

The teen glared at him, then pulled something out of her pocket. Before Steve could react, a thick stream of liquid hit him in his eyes.

"Damnit!" Steve exclaimed, as he used the bottom of his shirt to try to wipe his burning eyes. They felt as if they were on fire and the pain was getting a lot worse.

"Outta the car." Danny commanded his partner, as he reached over and killed the engine. He quickly pulled the keys from the ignition and climbed out of the car. But not before giving the young teen a hard glare.

Steve fumbled with the door handle, his eyes were swollen shut and he couldn't see anything. He opened the door and nearly fell out, but managed to stop himself and climbed out. He pulled his button down shirt off and tried to wipe his eyes again, but it was not doing any good.

Danny quickly opened the trunk and pulled out three bottles of water, then he rushed to his partner's side.

"Give me your shirt." Danny said, as he grabbed his shirt and poured water on it. Then he carefully wiped the other man's eyes. After several minutes of flushing his eyes and wiping them, Steve was in a lot less pain. But his eyes were still swollen and red.

"Thanks Danno." Steve said.

"No problem." Danny replied, as he once again wiped his friend's eyes with the wet shirt. "Better?"

"Yeah." Steve said. "What the hell is her problem with me?"

"No clue, Babe." Danny said. He handed another bottle of water to Steve. "Wash them again, I'm going to search the kid for more weapons."

"We should've done that before we put her in the car." Steve mumbled.

"I know." Danny agreed. "But I wasn't expecting a kid to have weapons. She can't be over fourteen."

Danny opened the car door and glared at the girl in the back seat. "Out." He ordered.

The teen climbed out of the car and glared over the top of it at Steve, who was still rinsing his eyes.

"Young lady, what you did was very wrong." Danny said sternly. "You could have hurt Steve really bad with that pepper spray."

"He deserved it." She said.

"What did he do to you?" Danny asked.

"It's personal, Sir." She said, returning her eyes to him.

"Put your hands on the trunk and spread your legs." Danny ordered.

"Yes Sir." She obeyed his instructions.

Danny patted her down, while reading her the Miranda Rights. He pulled several items out of the teen's pockets. A stun gun, another bottle of pepper spray, a butterfly knife, a book of matches, and a pack of cigarettes. He placed the items on the trunk as he removed them.

"Turn around." He ordered, his voice still stern.

She turned around and faced him.

Danny glared at the gathering crowd and showed his badge. "Everyone leave this area." He demanded, his voice cold and hard. "Now.".

The crowd quickly left.

"I am going to ask you some questions and I want truthful and full answers." Danny said, returning his glare towards the girl "What is your name?"

"I respectfully refuse to answer that, Sir." She said.

"Look kid." He said, his voice growing harder. "You are in enough trouble as it is, now answer the question."

"My name is Veronica Stevie Harris." She said. She wasn't sure why, but she started to feel respect towards the man. He really did seem like a good guy. She just couldn't figure out why he was friends with a creep like Mcggarett.

"What do you have against Steve?" Danny wanted to know.

"I'd like an answer to that as well." Steve said, as he walked over. He still couldn't see, and was holding onto the car for support.

"My mom's name is Meagan Rene Harris." Veronica said, looking at Danny. "I am Steve Mcgarrett's bastard daughter."

"Wh…what?" Steve asked in confusion. If his eyes were not still swollen shut, they would have been extremely wide.

"Where is your Mom now?" Danny asked. He was shocked, and was trying to make sense of all of this.

"Somewhere on this abysmal island." She replied.

"Who told you I was your Father?" Steve asked, his voice soft. He was beyond shocked, but the timeline fit. Him and Meg had dated about fifteen-years ago, and the girl did look a lot like him.

"My Mom." Veronica replied. "She told me all about you."

"I'm sure she did." Steve replied, his voice sarcastic. "We didn't leave things on very good terms, so I wouldn't put much stock in what she said about me."

"My Mom would not lie to me, you filthy motherfu….."

"Veronica." Danny barked out. "I have already told you to watch the language. You are too young to have such a foul mouth."

"Sorry Sir." She said, again automatically responding to his tone.

"Okay." Danny said, as he picked the items from the top of the trunk and placed them in his own pockets. "We can sort this out at headquarters."

He opened the passenger side door again, and carefully helped Steve slid into the seat. Then he grabbed Veronica's arm and marched her to the driver's side.

"Get it." He said, after opening the door.

She did as she was told, then Danny slipped in behind the wheel and started the ignition.

"Was Coleman your Mom's dealer in Boston?" Steve asked.

"I know my rights." The girl said. "I am not saying another word until I speak with a lawyer and a child advocate."

Danny sighed, this was going to be a long car ride.

TBC

Please let me know what you think, I will update as soon as I can.


	2. Chapter 2

**I want to apologize for the double story thing. I posted the wrong story first, the only difference was the name of the story. Then I thought I had it deleted before I posted the second one, but it didn't delete. Anyway, it's fixed now.**

 **I want to give a huge thank you for the wonderful reviews and for the story and author alerts, they mean a lot to me.**

 **I forgot to mention on the first chapter that I changed a couple things. Sara does not have an Aunt and Uncle in Mexico. Chin adopted her and has full legal custody. Him and Abby are married and have been for almost a year.**

 **Abby works with the HPD.**

 **Another change is that Rachael and Stan were killed in a plane crash two years before this story. Danny found out that Charlie was his son and donated his bone morrow when the boy was two. Charlie is now five.**

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Ten minutes later, Steve broke the silence in the car. He turned towards the girl in the backseat, but was only able to make out her outline. His eyesight was improving, but he knew it would still be another half hour or so before he regained his full eyesight back.

"I had no idea your Mom was pregnant." He said. He knew she was his daughter, she looked too much like him not to be.

"Bull s…."

"Veronica." Danny's voice warned.

"Sorry Sir." She said. "But if you don't want me to curse, then please inform Mcgarrett to zip his lip. Before I zip it for him."

"Look kid." Steve growled, his patience worn completely out. "Watch the attitude. I don't know what your problem is, but you had better solve it now. I will not tolerate your behavior any longer."

"You are my problem." She growled back. "You sorry son of a…"

"Enough!" both men said sternly.

Danny pulled over to the side of the road and glared at the young girl. "I am not going to warn you again." Then he turned to Steve and said in a softer voice. "She's not going to talk to you civilly, just settle down and we will wait until we reach headquarters."

Steve grunted, but turned to face forward again. He knew that Veronica had to be scared and angry. He had no idea what she was told about him, but he knew that it wasn't good.

Veronica stared out the window, confused. Her Mom had told her that Steve Mcgarrett was abusive and dangerous. But he hadn't even tried to hit her yet. Maybe he was just waiting until they were alone. His partner might not just sit back and let him hit a teenager.

The rest of the ride was made in complete silence. Within a few minutes, they were stopped outside of Five 0 Headquarters.

Danny climbed out, then held the door open for Veronica. Once she was out of the car, Danny placed a hand on her shoulder and gently turned her to face him.

"I am going to trust you to walk with us and not to run off." He said, looking into her eyes. "If you betray that trust, I will have no choice but to handcuff you. And that is something that I really don't want to do."

"I cannot promise not to run off in the future." She said honestly. "But for the time being, I will follow your rules."

"Thank you Veronica." He smiled at her.

"It's Roni." She returned the smile.

Steve watched his partner and daughter interact and couldn't stop the hint of jealousy he felt. She hated him and he wasn't sure how to get her to trust him.

The trio walked into the building, and received several odd looks. Once they walked into the main office, the looks continued from the rest of Five 0. Steve's eyes were still red and slightly swollen, and Danny had a black eye.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Lou asked.

"You've found Veronica." Kono said, relief evident in her voice.

"You know about her?" Steve asked in confusion.

"Her name came up in our investigation." Chin replied.

"What investigation?" Roni asked.

"Roni." Danny said. "I need you to wait in my office whi…."

"Hell no." Roni said. "If my name came up in their investigation, then so did Mom's."

"I know, Honey." Danny said, his voice soothing. "But this is an official police investigation."

"You don't understand." She said, her eyes pleading. "Mom is in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Danny asked. "How about you start at the beginning."

"Two weeks ago, Mom disappeared." Roni said.

"And you think she's here?" Danny asked.

"Yes Sir, I know she's here. Please let me stay, Mom is in trouble."

"She is trouble." Steve grumbled.

"Jackass." Roni growled, aiming a kick at the man's crotch.

Unluckily for Steve, his eyesight was still blurry. He did not see the kick coming and the teen's booted foot connected.

Steve doubled over in pain, cursing under his breath.

"Steven." Danny growled. "Will you please shut up?"

Steve glared at the other man. Then at Roni.

"You are not helping matters at all." Danny glared right back.

"I get the feeling we've missed something." Lou said. "Exactly what happened?"

"Steve will explain." Danny said, reaching out and taking one of Roni's hands in his. "Roni and I are going to go have a little chat." Then he led the young girl into his office and shut the door behind them.

"He had no call to say that." Roni defended herself when Danny released her hand and gave her a stern look.

"I know he didn't." Danny sighed, leaning a hip on the side of his desk and crossing his arms. "But you had no call to kick him."

"He's an….."

"Do not finish that thought, young lady." Danny warned.

The man nodded towards a chair in front of the desk and she sat down.

"You really need to work on your temper." Danny said.

"I know Sir." She admitted.

"I have a question." Danny said. "When you are not trying to do bodily harm to people around you, you are very polite. Your Mom teach you manners?"

"No Sir." Roni said. "Uncle Philip did. My Mom is not a very stable person, she's not able to care for a kid. Hasn't been in several years. Her brother stepped up and took me in, he's a Navy Seal."

"That explains the manners." Danny smiled. "Where is your Uncle now?"

"He passed away seven months ago." Roni replied.

"Who has been looking after you since he passed away?" Danny wanted to know.

"I'm fourteen." Roni shrugged. "I don't need looking after."

"I have a fifteen-year-old daughter. The thought of her being on her own terrifies me."

I am not your typical teenager." Roni said. "Uncle Philip has trained me well."

"Trained you how?"

"Martial arts, archery, shooting, you name it."

"Most teenage girls are more into makeup and clothes."

"I am not most girls."

"No you're not." Danny smiled warmly.

"Mom told me all about Mcgarrett." Roni said, looking into Danny's eyes. "He's got you fooled, he's dangerous."

"Steve is a good man." Danny said. "And he does not deserve to be treated the way you have been treating him. I believe him when he said he did not know about you."

"Believe what you want." She said. "But I know the truth."

"You think you know the truth, but…"

"Look Sir." Roni said, standing up. "Nothing you say will change my mind."

Danny sighed, she was totally Steve's kid.

"In time, you will change your mind." Danny said. "But right now, I have a case to solve and I could use your help. Tell me what you know about Coleman, Woodall, and your Mom."

"No Sir." Roni said. "I tell you, and you arrest Mom. I can't let that happen."

"We are only interested in Coleman and Woodall."

"I'm still waiting on my lawyer and child advocate." Roni said.

She was really starting to like this man, he seemed so nice. But she had to protect her Mom, she couldn't let her go to prison.

"Alright." Danny said. "Stay here, I'll send them in when they get here."

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

"You okay, Bruh?" Chin asked, as Steve stood up straight with a wince.

"Yeah." Was Steve's reply.

"Did that little girl give Danny the shiner and do that to your eyes?" Lou wanted to know.

"Yeah."

"What did you do to her?" Kono asked.

"Me do to her?" Steve asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She had to have a reason." Kono defended the girl.

"She does." Steve admitted. "There is a very big possibility that I am her Father."

"Say again." Lou said.

"And she's under the impression that I abandoned her."

Steve told them about everything that had happened. Then he asked. "What did you learn?"

Before anyone could answer, Danny left his office and rejoined them.

"She won't tell me what she knows." Danny said.

"Did you learn anything at all?" Steve asked.

"Only that he was raised by her Uncle Philip who was a Navy Seal. He passed away seven months ago."

"He was a Navy Seal." Chin said. "Until five years ago when he was tried for treason and found guilty."

"So he died in prison?" Steve asked.

"No." Chin replied. "I'll start at the beginning." Then he gave his friend a sympathetic look. "It's not good. Meagan Harris was hooked on drugs while she was pregnant with Veronica. She was born addicted to drugs. Veronica spent the first year of her life in a hospital, fighting for her life.

She was released when she was thirteen months old, fully recovered. She was adopted by her Mom's Brother, Philip Harris. At the time, he was a decorated Navy Seal. When Veronica was nine, her Uncle was brought up on charges of treason. He was accused of selling the names of active Seals to the targets they were trying to bring down.

When his home was raided, they were not there. But NCIS found a closed down warehouse that Harris purchased. They found Veronica and her Uncle there. Nine-year-old Veronica was crawling on her stomach through mud, barbed wire strung up less then half an inch above her, and live rounds being fired above her."

"My God." Danny said, as he ran a hand over his face. "Roni said that her Uncle trained her, but she didn't go into detail."

"What kind of person would force a little kid to go through that?" Steve asked in disgust. Sure he had gone through the same training, but he was an adult at the time and made the decision to join the Navy Seals and undergo the training.

"Harris was arrested and Veronica was placed into protective child services. A month later, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibly of parole. His actions caused eight Seals to lose their lives before all of the names he sold were discovered. He broke out of prison and they both vanished. Seven months ago, Harris's body was found with five bullet holes in him. Veronica was no were to be found."

"The Boston PD have any idea who killed him?" Steve asked.

"Their prime suspect was Markus Coleman." Kono replied. "It was later discovered that Harris was using his Naval contacts to help Coleman transport drugs. Apparently they had a falling out.

"How does Meagan fit into this?" Steve wanted to know.

"According to Boston PD, Meagan Harris was Coleman's long time girlfriend. Well one of them anyway, apparently he had a few." Chin said.

"So Meagan could be responsible for the murder of her own brother." Steve said.

"And Roni is stuck in the middle of all of this." Danny said.

"What's the story with Meagan Harris?" Danny asked Steve. "She doesn't really sound like your type."

"I had just gotten back from a real tough mission, and I met her in a bar. One thing led to another and we were in my hotel room, both with a pretty good buzz. The next morning I woke up and she was gone. So was my wallet, keys to my rental car, and all of my clothes.

I was pissed, so I tracked her down. I wasn't going to hurt her, just scare her a little. I found her in a crack house all strung out, she was barely alive. I took her to the hospital and stayed with her until she woke up. I was still pissed at her, but she just seemed so week and helpless laying in that bed.

We got to talking and she seemed like a decent woman with a problem. I stuck around for a couple weeks, trying to help her. I got her into a drug treatment program and rented her a hotel room. Then one day she vanishes, once again with my wallet."

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Roni paced in Danny's office, several emotions running through her at once. She knew what her Mom had told her about McGarrett, about how abusive and sadistic he was. But she also knew that her Mom was so badly hooked on drugs that she sometimes lost touch was reality.

The young teenager didn't know what to believe. She didn't know if she could trust McGarrett or not. The only thing that she did know, was that she had to protect her Mom. She was not strong enough to protect herself, never had been. It was up to Roni, she was strong enough. She had to be strong enough.

She knew she couldn't protect her Mom from Danny's office, she had to get out. Roni grabbed a letter opener off of the man's desk and knelt in front of the air vent. She quickly used the opener as a screwdriver and removed the gate, then she crawled into the vent. She wasn't sure where the vent led to, but she knew that it was her only choice.

She crawled on her hands and knees down several passages in the venting system, hoping she would find a grate leading to an empty room. After several minutes, she found one. Roni laid on her back and kicked the grate as hard as she could, it popped off pretty easily. Then the crawled through the opening and entered a room.

Standing up, she looked around. It was obviously an office, but it had no windows. She heard someone opening the door, and she quickly dropped to the floor and rolled under the desk.

"Whoever you are." A male voce said, with a hint of fear and uncertainty. "I've got a gun. Come out slowly."

Roni sighed, then came out from under the desk and stood up. She looked at the man and the object in his hand.

"That's a banana, not a gun." She said.

"I always get them two confused." The man admitted. "Almost broke a tooth the other day biting into a Beretta. You must be Veronica, thought you were in Danny's office."

"Got bored."

"So you decided to go vent crawling?" He asked, nodding towards the grate laying on the floor.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time, Sir."

"The name's Jerry." The man said with a warm smile. "Not Sir."

"It was nice meeting you." She said, as she started walking towards the door.

"Sorry, but I can't let you leave." Jerry said, stepping in front of her.

"Please step out of the way, Sir." Roni said.

"It's Jerry, not Sir." The man said.

"Let me pass."

"No." Jerry replied. "We need to talk."

"I am not in the mood for talking."

"Then listen."

"Not in the mood for that either."

Roni groaned when she looked out the door and saw two angry looking men walking towards the office.

"Man." Jerry said, as he turned to see what she was looking at. "Steve and Danny look pissed."

"Yes Sir." Roni sighed. "How did they find me?"

"The ventilation system has motion sensors." Jerry said, as the two men got closer.

Roni sighed again, then stood up straight and squared her shoulders. She never was on to back down from a fight. She was scared though, she wasn't sure what the men would do. She didn't think Detective Williams would hurt her, but he might be mad enough to step aside and let Mcgarrett hurt her.

Jerry saw the teenager's response, he also saw the fear in her eyes. He could tell that the young girl was scared.

Jerry quickly stepped in front of Roni and faced the opened door, just as Steve reached in. A scowl firmly placed on his face.

"Hey Steve." Jerry said. "We are in the middle of a conversation, can you come back later?" Then he shut the door in the older man's face and locked it.

TBC

Please let me know what you think. I will post again as soon as I can. Maybe by tonight, depends on how my day goes.


	3. Chapter 3

**I want to thank everyone again for the wonderful reviews and stuff. I am really glad that people are enjoying this story.**

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Roni stared at Jerry for a moment, in shock. She couldn't believe he just shut the door in Mcgarrett's face.

A loud pounding on the door and Steve's angry voice calling out…."Damnit Jerry, open this door!" caused her to jump.

"That was a really bad idea." Roni said, swallowing hard. "Mcgarrett was already pissed, now he's beyond pissed."

"Steve's bark is worse than his bite, well when ohana is concerned." Jerry said. "He'll get over it."

"I wouldn't count on that." Steve's voice boomed out, as he pounded on the door again. "Open this door before I knock it down."

Roni jumped again, then took a step towards the door to open it. She was scared of what the man would do, but keeping him locked out would only make him angrier.

"It's okay." Jerry said, placing a hand gently on her shoulder and looking into her eyes. "It's okay."

Then he walked to the door and opened it, stepping outside before Steve could come inside.

"What the hell are you doing?" Steve asked, glaring at him.

"Calm down, Steve." Jerry said. "That kid is terrified of you right now."

Steve's glare lessened.

"Give me half an hour, then I will bring her to your office. Just let me talk to her."

"That's a good idea, Babe." Danny told his partner. "Jerry's got a way with kids."

"Okay." Steve sighed. "But her and I are going to a long conversation later about her sneaking off."

Jerry nodded, then reentered his office and shut the door behind him.

"See." He smiled at the young girl. "Steve's a big ole teddy bear."

"Sure." She snorted.

"He really is a good man." Jerry said, as he sat on the sofa and patted the seat beside him. "You should cut him some slack."

"Please don't be offended by this." She said. "But you have no clue what you are talking about. He is anything but a good man."

"You're Mom must have told you some pretty awful things about him."

"Don't you dare say anything against my Mom." She glared at him.

"I'm not." He assured her, once again motioning for her to sat down. His voice was soft and comforting. "she must have had her reasons. My Mom had her reasons when she lied to me, My Dad too."

Jerry hadn't told many people this story, but he thought it might help her.

"My dad was an amazing man." Jerry said. "He was always very supporting to me, no matter what. You see I was considered a strange kid. I was always into conspiracy theories and hidden meanings in everyday things. I was teased a lot as a kid. But my Dad, who was not like me at all, never made me feel strange.

Dad was an athlete, into sports and fast cars. But he would always sat and listen to my latest theory, no matter what it was. He always encouraged me to be myself, no matter what anyone else said. He told me that it didn't matter what other people thought about me, all that mattered was what I thought about myself."

"He seemed like a really great Dad." Roni said as she sat down beside him.

"He was." Jerry agreed. "He passed away when I was nineteen. I really missed him, still do. When I was twenty-one, I was helping Mom clean out the attic and I found a box of old documents. Curious, I went through them and found my adoption papers. Turns out, the man I knew as my Dad was not my biological dad.

I confronted my Mom and she told me the truth. My biological dad was a drunkard who used to beat on Mom. When she found out she was going to have a baby, she left him. She didn't want her baby to grow up in a violent home.

She met Dad when I was a year old and they fell in love. She said they debated on whether or not to tell me the truth, and decided not to. They didn't want to hurt me."

"But why would Mom tell me he was an abusive and violent man if he isn't?" Roni asked, not sure if she wanted what her Mom said to be a lie or not.

She really did want an adult in her life who cared about her and helped her, she was tired of being alone. She wanted a family, a real one. But the thought that her Mom had been lying all of this time hurt her. If there was someone who could have protected her from all of the crap that she's been through, why would her Mom keep that person from her?

"Danny told me a little about your life." Jerry said, placing a comforting hand on her knee. "Maybe she thought that you might leave if you knew you had a Dad who would take you in and love you. Maybe she was just afraid of losing you."

"He's got a temper on him." Roni said. She really wanted to believe Jerry, but past experience taught her to be cautious around adults.

"Did you know that Danny had two kids?" Jerry asked.

"I knew he had a fifteen-year-old daughter." Roni replied, wondering why he changed the subject.

"He's also got a five-year-old son." Jerry said. "Danny is an amazing Dad. Him and his wife divorced when Gracie was seven. Then his ex remarried and moved to Hawaii, taking the little girl with them. Danny had a very good life in New Jersey, but he packed his bags and moved her to be near his daughter. He wanted Gracie in his life, wanted her to know her Dad."

"He does sound like a great Dad."

"He's got Steve down as a legal guardian if anything happens to him. Do you think a great Dad like Danny would leave his kids to a monster?"

"No Sir." Roni replied.

"I know you probably can't trust Steve right now, that will take time. But I really hope you keep an open mind and give him a chance."

"I will try." Roni said, her voice soft. For some reason, she trusted Jerry. She was willing to give Mcgarrett a chance, if Jerry said he was worth it.

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

True to his word, half an hour later, Jerry and Roni walked into the main office. The members of Five 0 were gathered around the smart table talking amongst themselves. They turned around to face the newcomers.

"Young lady, go wait for me in my office." Steve said sternly to his daughter, as he pointed to one of the offices. "We need to have a little chat."

Roni looked at Jerry, who gave her an encouraging smile.

"Yes Sir." She said to Steve, then walked into his office.

"Go easy on her Steve, she's been through a lot." Jerry said.

"I have been going easy on her." Steve replied in an annoyed voice.

"We talked a lot." Jerry said. "Her Mom told her a lot of really bad stuff about you. Including you beating her Mom to a bloody pulp when you found out she was pregnant."

"She believes that?" Steve asked, his voice sounding so much weaker then normal.

"She's trying not to now, but it'll take time." Jerry replied. "You go in there and start giving her the riot act, and….."

"I know." Steve said. He sighed, then walked into his office.

Steve walked over to his desk and leaned a hip on it, crossing his arms in front of him. "Have a seat." He said, his voice soft.

Roni sat down, her eyes searching Steve's eyes. She wanted to believe the man was a good man, but she was still Leery.

"I know you were told things, bad things." Steve said, trying to find the right words. "But judging someone based solely on what you were told is wrong. A person should be judged by their own action, not by gossip."

"I know." Roni admitted.

"I understand that trust must be earned, and it's a two way street. We must gain each other's trust. But, even if you don't trust me right now, I expect you to respect me and my orders. That too is a two way street. I promise to respect you."

Roni nodded her head.

"I expect you to follow my orders." Steve said, his voice growing stern. "Whether you are ready to accept me as your Father right now or not, I am still an adult. And after I sign a few papers, I will be your legal guardian. You pull anymore disappearing acts like you did earlier, then I can promise you that you will not like the results. I will never hurt you, not in a million years. But I will place you over my knee and spank you."

"I have to find my Mom." Roni said.

"We are looking for her." Steve assured the girl. "It will help us in finding her if you tell us what you know."

"You find her and you will arrest her." Roni said.

"Don't you think being arrested would be better then living a life of drug addiction?" Steve asked, his voice once again soft. "I tried to help your Mom once, maybe this time she will accept the help."

"Doubtful." Roni said sadly.

"We can give it a try." Steve said.

"Why would you help her?" Roni asked. "Either you are an abusive bastard that used to beat her, or she has been lying about you for fourteen years. Either way, you have no reason to help her."

"First off." Steve said, giving her a hard glare. "Watch the language, you have been warned way too many times already. Next curse word that comes out of your mouth, I will swat your backside. If that doesn't work, you will find out what soap tastes like. Understood?"

"Yes Sir." Roni said.

She knew she shouldn't curse like she did, but it had never bothered the adults around her. They couldn't have cared less what she said.

"And I want to help Meagan because she is the Mother of my Daughter." Steve said, his voice and facial features a lot softer. "And because it is my job to help people. I cannot promise that your Mom won't go to jail, I don't know what all she had done. She may be sent to prison for a very long time, but I can promise to try to help her get off the drugs. If possible, get her life back together."

Roni looked into his eyes and sighed. He really did seem like a good guy, maybe she could trust him. Maybe he wasn't like all of the others.

"I don't know where she is." Roni said. "All know s that Coleman brought her here."

"Start at the beginning." Steve said.

Roni decided to give the man a chance, she hoped she wasn't making a mistake.

"Uncle Philip raised me, but Mom and Coleman were constant visitors. Uncle Philip used his Naval connections to help Coleman ship drugs, for a price. Then seven months ago, Uncle Philip gets killed. The police think it was Coleman, but they are wrong."

"Who killed him?" Steve wanted to know.

"I don't know, but Coleman had no reason to kill him. Uncle Philip was going to fly him here and continue to ship his drugs. Coleman and Uncle Philip were friends, they'd sit around and down a couple dozen bottles of beer and play poker. "

"Could your Mom have killed him?" Steve really didn't want to ask the question, but he needed answers.

"No Sir, she wouldn't do anything without Coleman's permission." Roni said, bitterly. "He kept her high and in his control at all times. Mom has no will power at all, she's totally submissive to Coleman."

"Then how did you expect to get her away from Coleman?" Steve asked.

"I hadn't worked that out yet." She admitted.

"How did you know that Coleman was in Hawaii?" Steve asked. "And that he was hooking up with Woodall?"

Uncle Philip and me spent a lot of time at Coleman's compound." Roni said. "After Coleman found out that the cops were closing in on him, he started making plans. Him and Woodall were partners back in the day, but they hadn't seen each other in like ten years. "

"Is that where you heard Kamakono's name?" Steve asked.

"Yes Sir."

"Thank you for telling me what you know." Steve said.

"It isn't much." Roni admitted.

"It's more then I knew before." Steve told her.

"Will you really try to help Mom?"

"If I can." Steve replied.

"What's going to happen to me?" Roni asked.

"After I sign some papers, you will go home with me. We will become a family."

"Why?" Roni asked, confused. "After all I did?"

"Because we are Ohana and Ohana sticks together." Steve replied, as he stood up straight. He then knelt in front of her and took her hands into his. "We have a lot of things to iron out, but we will iron them out together. From now on, we are a team."

Steve smiled at her, then stood up. "Stay in here while Five 0 does our job" His tone turned slightly hard. "And I mean stay here."

"I thought we were a team." She said, standing up.

"We are" Steve agreed. "In the family aspect of things. Not in official police investigation of a crime."

"I cannot just sit here and let Mom stay with Coleman." Roni said, glaring at the man.

"This is not up for debate." Steve said, returning the glare.

"The hell it isn't." Roni spat out. "You have no right to tell me what to do, you son of a b…."

Steve cut the sentence off as he quickly grabbed the girl's shoulder and turned her sideways. Then he landed three hard swats to her butt. He turned her back around to face him and released her arm.

"You will learn that I am a man of my word, Veronica." He said sternly. "I will not tolerate that language."

"Sorry Sir." She said, a little surprised.

Her butt stung, the man was really strong. But only her butt stung, he didn't hit her anywhere else. When an adult got mad at her, she usually got a lot more than three swats.

"I know you want to help your Mom but the best way to do that is to let us do our jobs. We cannot focus on the case if we are worried about you." Steve said.

"I don't need anyone to worry about me." Roni said. Even though the thought of having someone to worry about her was nice.

"Too bad, it's a Father job to worry about his kids." Steve said. "Now stay put, or those three swats will be followed by a whole lot more."

Then he left the office.

Roni sighed, as she watched him leave. She wanted to trust him to find her Mom but she still wasn't completely convinced that he wanted to truly help her. She decided to give him a couple days, then she would sneak away and find her Mom if he hadn't.

 **TBC…..**


	4. Chapter 4

**Once again, I would like to think you for the wonderful reviews and alerts. Thank you so much for sticking with the story. I will update again as soon as I can, we are doing overtime at work right now.**

An hour later, Roni was still sitting in Steve's office. The door opened and Jerry walked in, carrying a large bag and a cardboard cup holder containing two fountain drinks.

"Hey, Mr. Ortega." Roni said.

"It's Jerry, call me Jerry." The man said, as he sat the items on Steve's desk. "How about having lunch with me? I've got garlic and lemon shrimp."

"Never had it, but I am starved." Roni said.

"You've never had garlic and lemon shrimp?" Jerry asked with mock shock.

"I've had the frozen fried shrimp before, but that's it."

"Then you, my young friend, are in for a treat." He sat in the chair beside her and handed her a Styrofoam plate, and placed the drink in front of her. "Kamakono is a genius when it comes to shrimp."

"Did he poison it?" Roni asked. "I think I made him mad at me."

"He's not mad, Roni." Jerry assured her. "He's worried about you just like the rest of us."

"Why?" She asked, curious. She could see the concern in the man's eyes, but she wasn't sure why he was so concerned about her.

"I know you are a good person." Jerry said, looking at her with a fond smile. "I know that you are mixed up in something very dangerous and that you are very stubborn."

"Who said I was stubborn?" Roni asked.

"You are a McGarrett." Jerry replied. "That automatically means you are stubborn."

Before Roni could reply, the door opened and Steve stuck his head in. "We've got a few leads to follow up on." He said. "Roni you are to remain in this office, understand?"

"Yes Sir." She sighed.

"Good, Jerry can you keep an eye on her?"

"I don't need a babysitter." Roni snapped, annoyed. She sat her plate on Steve's desk and stood up.

"I was not speaking to you." Steve replied.

"I don't give a damn who you were talking too, you asshole. I do not need a babysitter. I…" Roni stopped talking when Steve marched into the room and over to her. She knew what was coming.

Steve grabbed her arm, spun her sideways, and landed four hard swats to her butt. She took them in silence, but winced at the last one. She really needed to watch her mouth around the man, he had a hard hand.

Steve turned her to face him and gave her a stern look. "Young lady, I am getting tired of your mouth. Now if you have any problems with anything I do or say, then you need to come to me and speak to me like a normal person. You will not use that language, you will not insult me or anyone else, and you will not raise your voice to me. Is that understood?"

"Yes Sir." She said softly, barley able to resist the urge to rub her butt.

"You better understand, because next time it will not be a few swats. You will get a full spanking, after getting your mouth washed out."

Steve relaxed his facial features and his voice grew softer. "I know this is a big change, it is for both of us. I know I am not exactly Father of the year material, but I am trying my best here."

"Actually you are doing pretty good." Roni said, feeling bad about the way she had been talking to Steve. If she had said half the stuff to her Uncle Philip, then she would have been backhanded a few times.

"We've got to work on your temper." Steve said, giving her a smirk. "You sound too much like me."

Then his voice once again turned stern. "Do not leave this office without Jerry being with you, understood?"

"Yes Sir."

"Good." Steve smiled, then left the office.

Roni turned and saw Jerry looking at her and she blushed.

"Don't worry about him swatting you in front of me." Jerry said, giving her a sympathetic smile. "My Dad used that method on me to get my attention at times. It works."

"It sure does." Roni frowned as she rubbed her still stinging butt. "Mcgarrett is a very strong man."

"Come on and have your dinner." Jerry said.

Roni sat down gently, then picked her plate back up. "It smells great." She took a bite and smiled. "Tastes great too. I never knew shrimp could taste like this."

"This is only the beginning." Jerry assured her. "Kamakono has a lot of flavors to choose from." Then he frowned and added. "Just do not ever try the shrimp donuts."

"Did you say shrimp donuts?" Roni asked.

"Yep."

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

"Trust me I won't ever try that one."

"You are a smart kid." Jerry smiled.

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Steve and Danny were in Danny's car heading towards a known drug dealers house. Nathan Miller had been arrested twice for drug dealing. Five 0 had reason to believe that him and Coleman had a meeting the previous day.

"So." Danny said, as Steve drove. "When are you going to tell Mary that she has a niece?"

"Soon." Steve replied. "You know how Mary is, she'll be overjoyed and try to smother Roni. I don't think Roni's ready for that yet."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Danny agreed. "How are you holding up?"

"I feel like I'm falling in a deep hole." Steve admitted. He wasn't used to sharing his emotions so honestly, but he trusted Danny. He knew Danny would never think he was weak if he fell apart. "I am scared to death. Scared that I am going to screw this up, scared that I will never truly gain Roni's trust, scared that my daughter will hate me."

"She doesn't hate you, Babe." Danny said. "She might have at first but she's coming around. I mean you've swatted her a couple different times and she hasn't pepper sprayed you again, so that's something."

"Good point." Steve smiled slightly. "Roni is a tough kid. If I would have swatted her a few short hours ago, I might have ended up in some serious pain." Then the small smile disappeared. "A kid her age shouldn't have to be that tough."

"I know, Babe." Danny agreed.

"Do you think I'm being too hard on her?" Steve wanted to know. "I mean, should I be spanking her?"

"Steve, I can not tell you how to raise your daughter." Danny said.

"No, but you can give me advice. You never had trouble keeping your opinion to yourself before."

"No I don't think you are being too hard on her." Danny assured the man. "Roni is a good kid, but she has a temper on her. And impulse problems. She has to learn what is appropriate behavior and what is not. Roni needs stability and love. You can provide both of those things."

"Are you sure?" Steve asked.

"I am positive." Danny smiled. "You have been like a second Father to my kids. I have to admit, I was nervous the first time I left Gracie with you. She was only nine, and I was afraid that you would teach her how to sneak up to an assailant and slit their throats or something. But now, I have absolutely no fear in leaving my babies with you."

"Thanks Danno."

They rode in silence for a few moments, then Steve pulled up to a secluded house and killed the engine. Him and Danny stepped out of the car, as Chin's car and Lou's SUV also parked.

"Remember." Steve said, as he drew his gun. "Miller is known to be heavily armed and surrounded by other heavily armed men."

The other's nodded, then drew their own weapons.

"Chin, Kono." Steve said. "Take the back. Lou, with Danny and me."

Chin and Kono jogged to the back of the house, while the other three walked to the front door. Steve waited a few seconds to give Chin and Kono time to get into position, then he kicked the door open. He heard the back door being kicked open a split second later.

"Five 0!" Steve shouted. "Up against the wall!"

The four men in the room had no choice but to do as they were told. They faced the wall and placed their hands on it.

"Keep them covered." Steve told Lou, as he motioned for the others to search the house. After a quick search, they discovered that there was no one else in the house.

But they did find a pile of money laying on a table and several bags of cocaine laying on another table.

Chin and Danny searched the men, pulling guns and knives from their pockets. Once they were positive that the men were no longer armed, they stepped back.

"Turn around." Steve ordered.

The four men lowered their hands and turned to face them.

"We are looking for three people and you are going to tell us where to find them." Steve said, looking at Miller.

"And why would I do that?" Miller asked. He was in his early twenties, with multiple facial piercings and green spiky hair.

"Because if you don't, I am going to give you another piercing." Steve replied, aiming his gun at the younger man's ear.

"You don't scare me, pig." Miller sneered.

Steve's response was to pull the trigger. A loud shot was heard, then a small piece of the man's ear disappeared and the bullet struck the wall behind him.

"My ear!" Miller shouted, as he clutched his bleeding ear. "You shot my ear off!"

"Only a small piece." Steve said, now aiming the gun at the man's groin. "Would you like another piercing?"

"You're insane!" Miller shouted. The other three men looked terrified.

"I have been telling people that for the past six years." Danny said. "Yes, this man is extremely insane. I highly suggest that you tell him what he wants to know, or you will find out exactly how insane he really is."

"Who are you looking for?" Miller asked.

"Markus Coleman, Brent Woodall, and Meagan Harris." Steve answered.

"They ain't here." Miller said.

"We can see that." Steve growled. "We would like to know where they are."

"They were here yesterday." Miller admitted. "Coleman wanted to take over our operation."

"Did they?" Danny asked.

"We agreed to play along." Miller said. "They have some heavy hitters with them, figured it was in our best interest to play ball with them. They are hold up at an old hunting cabin on Myahah Island."

"How many men are with them?" Chin asked.

"Five." Miller said, still holding his injured ear. "But I don't know how many are at the cabin."

"What was Harris's condition?" Steve asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

"High as a kite." Miller replied. "Barley coherent and clinging to Coleman like he was some kind of life jacket or something. She started babbling and Coleman backhanded her, knocked her on her ass. The dumb bitch just stood up, apologized to him, and started clinging to him again."

They heard the sound of approaching sirens and Five 0 ushered the men outside and the police cuffed them and placed them in the patrol cars.

"You really are insane." Danny said, glaring at Steve. "You shot that man."

"Only in the earlobe." Steve defended himself.

"You need help." Danny commented.

"I am trying to save my daughter." Steve said, his voice calm. "Roni is my kid, I know she will sneak off and go after Coleman all alone if we don't find Meagan. I just now found her, I can't lose her."

"Okay." Danny sighed. "What's the plan?"

"They will see and hear a plane from a mile out." Steve replied. "So we take a boat."

"Won't they see a boat?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, but they won't be suspicious." Steve replied. "Not with Lou and a couple men from HPD in street clothes fishing. You, Kono, Chin, and me can slip into the water and swim to the island. Other members of the HPD will be below deck. "

"Good plan." Danny agreed.

"Let's go get a boat." Steve said.

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

An hour later Steve, Chin, Kono, and Danny swam up to the island and climbed onto shore.

"There is a reason I hate swimming." Danny grouched as they quickly removed their wetsuits and pulled their weapons and earpieces out of waterproof bags.

"Because you are a grouchy land lover." Steve guessed.

"No, Super Seal." Danny replied. "Because if man were meant to swim, we'd have flippers."

"Come on." Chin said, smiling at the two men. "According to Miller, the cabin is a couple miles north."

The four teammates and friends silently and quickly made their way through the dense vegetation and reached the edge of a large clearing. Inside the clearing stood a large cabin, six armed men were standing outside the cabin.

"Coleman, Woodall, and Harris are not there." Steve said, looking through a pair of binoculars. "They may be inside."

"An army could be in there too." Chin commented. "Any ideas?"

"Yeah." Steve said. "Kono and I will circle the cabin, take a peek inside and see if we can see anything."

"Good idea, Boss." Kono agreed.

Steve and Kono stayed low, and made their way through the vegetation and reached the back of the cabin. They made sure no one was nearby, then they quickly left the vegetation and reached the cabin. Kono kept a watch out, while Steve peered inside.

He saw Woodall sitting at a table, eating. Meagan was laying on a cot, she appeared to be asleep. He saw no one else in the large one room cabin.

Steve motioned for Kono to fall back, then they moved back to the vegetation and back to the rest of their team.

"Woodall and Harris are inside." Steve said. "Woodall is eating and Harris is asleep."

"Hey guys." Lou's voice came in through their earpieces. "Three men are on the shoreline watching us with binoculars. They're not looking very nervous, guess the fishing ruse is working."

"I say we stop the ruse." Steve said. "Lou, bring all of the officer on deck and head towards the island, but head in slow. We need a distraction."

"You got it." Lou's voice said.

A few second later, the six armed men all reached for their radios and one of them started shouting orders. Coleman ran from the cabin and all of the men headed off into the vegetation.

"The three men are on the run." Lou said.

"So are these." Steve replied.

"Right into our hands." They heard Duke's voice through the radio. They heard shouting and a very short burst of gunfire. Then Duke's voice again. "We've got ten men here. Including Woodall. Coleman isn't here."

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Jerry and Roni were eating their shrimp in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Jerry was watching Roni, trying to think of ways to help her. He could tell that she was in deep thought about something, and that that something was bothering her.

Roni was indeed deep in thought, she was thinking about Mcgarret and how he had been treating her. He hadn't even tried to hit her, well other then her butt that is. If he was as abusive as her Mom had told her, then she would have been beaten by now.

It was clear to her that her Mom had been lying for the past fourteen years. Steve Mcgarrett was a good man, and he could have saved her from a lot of misery if he had known about her. Moms were supposed to protect their children, not keep protection away

"Penny for your thoughts." Jerry said, as he put his empty plate on Steve's desk and took Roni's empty plate from her. He also sat it on the desk.

"I don't think my thoughts are worth a whole penny." Roni said.

"I don't know." Jerry said. "They may even be worth a dollar."

Roni smiled at him, she really liked Jerry. He was a very good man and seemed sincerely interested in helping her and being her friend.

"I was just thinking about Mcgarrett, and about the fact that my Mom lied. I honestly don't think he would ever beat a pregnant woman, I don't even think he would hit any woman. Unless it was absolutely impossible to avoid. Then only hard enough to regain control of the situation."

"You're right." Jerry agreed.

"Do you really think that Mcgarrett forgives me for the way I've treated him? And Detective Williams too, I was mean to him."

"I know they both have forgiven you." Jerry assured the teenager. "Steve and Danny both know that you were and still are scared and confused. Like I said before, we all want to help you."

"Mcgarrett said he wanted me to live with him. Well not in those exact words, but that's want he meant."

"Of course he does, you're his daughter."

"But what about Mom? I can't just abandon her, I am the only who has ever protected her."

"How have you protected her?" Jerry asked.

"Mom has very low self esteem, always has. She won't stand up for herself when Coleman hits her, she just takes it. So if I'm there, I stand between her and Coleman." Roni said her voice sad and distant. "And when Uncle Philip used to get mad and hit her, I'd stand in front of her."

"So Coleman and your Uncle hit you instead?" Jerry asked, trying to keep the anger from showing in his voice. He just couldn't figure out how someone could beat an innocent child.

"Coleman did." Roni said. "Uncle Philip usually just made me run an extra mile or do an extra fifty pushups. He only backhanded me a few times usually when I argued with him."

"He had no right to backhand you." Jerry said. "No kid deserves that."

"Uncle Philip said it was to make me stronger, it's also why he never stopped Coleman from beating on me. He said that a Navy Seal had to be able to endure taking a beating."

"You planning on becoming a Navy Seal?"

"That's what Uncle Philip wanted."

"What do you want?"

"No one has ever asked me that." Roni said.

"I am asking now." Jerry said, taking both of her hands into his. "What do you want?"

"Do you promise not to tell Mcgarrett?" Roni asked, thinking that maybe she finally met an adult who wouldn't think her dreams were that of a silly kid. An adult who would actually be supportive of her dreams and not think they were foolish.

"I promise to keep it a secret as long as it's nothing dangerous." Jerry replied. He hated keeping things about Roni from Steve, but he really needed to gain her trust.

"I really like learning to fight and shoot, but I don't want to be a Seal. I want a career where I can use art. Maybe an art critic, or maybe even a curator at an art museum."

"You like art?" Jerry asked. "That's cool. A lot of careers in the art field. Do you just like looking at art? Or do you like to create art too?"

"Got a piece of paper and a pencil?" Roni asked, smiling. She couldn't believe Jerry thought her love of art was a good thing. No adult had ever thought that.

"I'm sure Steve has plenty of both." Jerry smiled back. He grabbed several sheets of printer paper and a pencil, laying them in front of her.

Roni leaned forward and started drawing, after a few minutes, she sat back up and handed the piece of paper to Jerry. It was a picture of him, a very realistic picture of him.

"This is amazing." Jerry said, impressed. "Where did you learn to draw like this?"

"I taught myself." Roni said. "I've always loved art."

"I promised you that I would not tell Steve, and I will keep that promise." Jerry said. "But why don't you want Steve to know, he will be as impressed as me. This is really good."

"He's a Navy Seal." Roni said with a sad sigh. "Art is not an useful skill to have. He won't approve."

"Yes he will." Jerry said.

"No." Roni said, a slight panic in her eyes. "Please don't tell him."

"Okay, I won't." Jerry said, concerned about her reaction. "I promise I won't tell him. But please tell me why."

"He won't approve." Roni said.

"I'm guessing your Uncle Philip didn't approve."

"No Sir, he didn't."

"What did he do?" Jerry asked, dreading the answer.

Roni chewed on her bottom lip, trying to decide whether to tell him or not.

"Once when I was twelve, I was supposed to be running. But my ankle was sore and Uncle Philip was nowhere around, so I skipped the run. I was sitting under a tree drawing and didn't hear him coming up. He was furious, he made me burn all of my art supplies, then he…he whipped me."

"How?" Jerry asked, really hating the man.

"I had to strip naked and lay on a cot, and he used his belt on me. He whipped me with a belt a couple times before, but never like this. He hit my back and legs too, he had never done that before. He had never done it again either. But I never let him see me draw again either. I was screaming and begging him to stop, but he kept on. I couldn't walk for a couple days after that."

"Oh, Honey." Jerry said, feeling his eyes water. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her. Roni stiffened, not used to being hugged. But after a few moments, she relaxed and leaned into the hug. It felt so good to be hugged by him.

After several minutes, Jerry let go and once again took her hands into his. "I promise you that no one will ever do that to you again."

"How can you be sure of that? I am not an easy person to get along with, I know I will make Mcgarrett mad at me."

"Probably so." Jerry said. "I am sure that you will do something that will make Steve angry, that will earn yourself a punishment. But I know for a fact, that no matter what you do, no matter how angry Steve is. He will never do that to you, never. Steve might spank you, but he will never abuse you. No matter what."

Roni looked into his eyes and believed him.

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

TBC….


	5. Chapter 5

It was a few hours later, that a very tired Five 0 walked into their headquarters. Jerry was sitting in a chair reading a book. The door to Steve's office was open and the lights were out inside of the office.

"You guys look like crap." Jerry remarked, laying his book down.

"Feel like it too." Danny replied. "It has been a long few hours searching that damn island."

"Where's Roni?" Steve asked.

"Asleep on your couch, been out for a couple hours." Jerry answered. "She told me where she stashed her backpack with her belongings, I sent Eric to grab it. I checked it out before I gave it to her. All that was in it was another pair of cargo pants, a tee shirt, a set of girl under things, toothbrush, toothpaste, and a pack of cigarettes. The cigarettes are in your desk."

Jerry sighed and continued, this time his voice sad. "We need to talk, Roni opened up some more to me. It's not good, but you should know about it."

"Alright." Steve said.

"Apparently Coleman beats on Meagan, and Roni stands between them. So Coleman just beats on her instead." Jerry said. "Harris used to knock Meagan around too, and Roni would stand between them. But she said he'd just make her do some extra physical training."

Jerry sighed and ran a hand over his face. "But he has beaten her too. Roni said he'd backhand her sometimes. And once, he whipped her on her bare back, butt, and legs with his belt. The girl was only twelve at the time."

"Damnit." Steve said in frustration, as he slammed his fist into the wall. He left a slight indention in the plaster.

"Take it easy, Babe." Danny said, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "You have to stay focused here."

"I'm going to rip Coleman apart." Steve growled.

"We have to find him first." Danny reminded him.

"What did you learn on the island?" Jerry wanted to know.

"We found Woodall, Meagan, and a few of Coleman's goons." Steve replied. "But not Coleman. Meagan is in the hospital, she'd been worked over pretty good and had a lot of drugs in her system. Doctor said she wouldn't be awake for several more hours."

"But we've got Woodall in the dungeon." Danny said. "We're about to go ask him where to find Coleman."

"I think he's waited long enough." Steve said, a determined scowl on his face.

"Hold it, Steve." Danny said. "Maybe you should sat this one out."

"Excuse me?" Steve asked, glaring at him.

"You know how much I hate agreeing with Danny." Lou said. "On anything. But he's right."

"How about Danny and I question Woodall?" Chin suggested.

Before Steve could answer, they heard a soft moaning coming from Steve's office. Then a loud scream.

Everyone raced to the door and Steve flipped the lights on. Roni was sitting on the couch, breathing hard.

"It's okay, Roni." Steve said softly, as he entered the office.

Roni's eyes went wide and she jumped off of the couch and searched the room with her eyes as if looking for an escape route. The adults could tell that she was still confused from whatever dream had woken her.

"It's okay, Honey." Steve said, as he took another step towards her.

Roni scrambled backwards, only stopping when her back was against the wall. She blinked several times trying to clear her head.

"Roni." Jerry said, as he slowly walked over to her. "It's me, Jerry." His voice was soft and comforting. "It was only a dream, you are safe here."

Roni looked at him and was starting to focus. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"That must have been a pretty bad dream." Jerry said, as he reached the girl and gently wrapped his arms around her.

Roni stiffened for a moment, then relaxed and laid her head against the man's chest. She was once again surprised by how nice it felt to be hugged by him. She felt safe in his arms, she felt loved.

Steve watched the scene in front of him and could not help but feel jealous. His daughter was hurting, and was seeking comfort from someone other then himself. He once again wondered if he would ever gain her trust.

Even though Steve was jealous of the relationship between his daughter and Jerry, he was very grateful to him. He knew that Roni needed an adult to trust, and he trusted Jerry. He knew that the man would do everything in his power to help Roni.

"I'm sorry I disturbed you." Roni said, once Jerry released her.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Kiddo." Jerry assured her with a warm smile. "I've had a few pretty nasty nightmares myself."

"Are you okay, Roni?" Steve asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Yes Sir." She replied. "Any luck finding Mom?"

Steve sighed, not wanting to tell the girl the truth. But not wanting to lie to her either. "We found her." He said, after a moment. "Have a seat, I'll tell you about it."

"Yes Sir." She said, sitting in a chair in front of Steve's desk. The adults walked outside the office.

"You two question Woodall." Steve said to Danny and Chin. "Lou, you and Kono run backgrounds on all the men we arrested on the island."

Everyone nodded, then went to do as they were told. Steve took a deep breath and walked back into his office. He sat on the sofa and motioned for the teen to join him.

"Must be pretty bad." Roni said, as she stood up and walked over to the sofa. She sat down and faced the man. "Let me guess, she was high as a kite?"

"Yeah." Steve said. "And badly beaten."

"Coleman." Roni said through gritted teeth. "What's her condition?"

"The doctor said she'd recover." Steve assured her. "But it will be several hours before she's awake."

"Is she under arrest?"

"Not officially yet, she wasn't conscious so we could not read her her rights."

"Thank you for finding her." Roni said, fighting back tears. She felt like she had failed her Mom. She was laying in a hospital bed badly beaten because she was not there to protect her. And she was going to jail because she wasn't there to protect her.

"We found Woodall, he's in custody." Steve explained. "Coleman is in the wind, but we are searching for him."

"He might go after Mom." Roni said in concern.

"Your Mom is safe." Steve replied. "I've got two armed officers posted at her door. No one is getting in there."

"Thank you."

"It's not your fault." Steve said, causing her to give him a confused look. She wondered how he knew she blamed herself.

Steve smiled slightly at her confused look. "I just met you this morning, but I know you enough to know that you blame yourself. Jerry told me about how you would put yourself between your Mom and people who wanted to hurt her."

"Mom's not a strong person." Roni said.

"It is a parent's job to protect their children not the other way around." Steve said.

"In an ideal world, maybe." Roni replied. "But we don't live in an ideal world."

"No we don't." Steve agreed.

They sat in silence for a few moments, and then Steve asked. "Want to talk about your nightmare?"

"It was just a dream." Roni said.

"Seemed like more than just a dream." Steve replied.

"I'm still kinda tired, mind if I catch some sleep?" Roni said, wanting to end the conversation.

"Of course not." Steve sighed. "Get some sleep, I will be right outside if you need anything."

"Okay."

Steve stood up and Roni laid down on the sofa.

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Danny and Chin walked into the windowless room where Woodall was sitting cuffed to a chair in the middle of the room.

"About time." Woodall said, as they entered. "I want my lawyer."

Woodall was in his late thirties with short brown hair and a slender frame.

"We'll be sure to send him in when he gets here." Danny said. "But first, you are going to answer some questions."

"And why would I do that?" The man asked.

"Because we are asking nicely." Danny said, walking over to him and kicking him hard in the chest. The force of the kick caused his chair to tip over backwards and he landed with a loud crash. "Would you like for us to not be so nice?"

"Danny." Chin said grabbing the man's arm and pulling him backwards a few steps. "This is why we didn't want Steve in here."

"You're insane." Woodall exclaimed, fear in his voice. "You can't do this to me, I know my rights."

"You gave up your rights when you started selling poison on our streets and turning women out as prostitutes." Chin said.

Danny and Chin each grabbed a side of the chair and the man's arms and hauled him back up into a sitting position.

"Where's Coleman?" Danny asked.

"What's in it for me if I answer?" Woodall asked, his voice nervous.

"What's in it for you?" Chin asked. "How about I don't leave the room and leave you in here alone with Detective Williams?"

"Coleman's a dangerous man, he'll kill me if I tell you." Woodall pleaded.

"Would you rather take your chances in here?" Danny asked, his voice hard.

"He'll be at the Hawaiian Villa tomorrow night at around eight." Woodall said quickly. "He's meeting with the Vargas drug cartel, he's trying to form an alliance with them."

"Will he still show even though his men were arrested?" Chin wanted to know.

"Yeah, this is a multi-million dollar deal. He'll show. And he probably thinks that none of us will talk."

"I'm curious about something." Danny said. "Did you just stand there and let Coleman beat on Meagan Harris? Or did you get a few licks in too? And what about Veronica? Did you ever feel the urge to knock her around?" As he talked, Danny's voice grew more and more scary.

"I…I never met the kid." Woodall stuttered. Fear very evident in his voice. "And I never hit Meagan. But Coleman only beat her this time because he found out that she killed Philip."

"Philip Harris?" Chin asked. "Why would she kill her own brother?"

"Because he was having a change of heart about this Veronica kid becoming a mule." Woodall said, happy that he had information the two men wanted. He was terrified of the blond one.

"You were going to turn a little kid into a mule?" Danny growled causing the other man to flinch.

"Not me." Woodall quickly said. "I had nothing to do with it, this was before they came to Hawaii. Coleman planned on turning the girl into a mule, getting her to transport drugs by placing them in balloons and having her swallow them. But Meagan said that Philip was against the idea, and that he was planning on contacting Veronica's Father her in Hawaii."

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Chin and Danny walked into the main office and over to the smart table where the rest of Five 0 were standing.

"What'd you learn?" Steve asked them.

"That Danny is just as much of a hot head as you." Danny replied.

"We already knew that." Lou replied.

"We learned that Coleman will be at the Hawaiian Villa tomorrow night at eight." Danny said ignoring Chin and Lou's comments. "He's teaming up with the Vargas drug cartel."

Danny looked the opened door to Steve's office and dropped his voice lower. "Is Roni asleep?"

"Think so." Steve replied, also dropping his voice. "But I'm not sure."

"Woodall said that it was Meagan who killed Philip Harris." Danny said, his voice low.

"Why would she kill her own brother?" Kono asked.

"According to Woodall, Coleman and Meagan were planning on using Roni as a mule. Getting her to swallow drugs and transport them. Her Uncle didn't want her too and was planning on contacting Steve."

"It makes sense." Steve said angrily. "Roni knew who I was, knew I was here. I guess she found out that her Uncle found me, but didn't find out why."

"What are you going to tell her?" Jerry asked. "I know she won't take the news well."

"I don't know." Steve admitted. "Nothing right now, not until we have proof. Woodall might have just been covering for Coleman."

"What did you find out about the other goons?" Chin asked.

"All local hires, none of them had any contact with Coleman." Kono answered her cousin. "Only Woodall."

"Alright." Steve said. "Everyone go home get some sleep. We can't do anything else till tomorrow anyway."

"What about you?" Danny wanted to know.

"I don't want to wake up Roni, she needs her rest." Steve replied. "If you don't mind, I'll crash on the couch in your office."

"Not at all, it's actually very comfortable." Danny said.

"Jerry, can you hang around a minute." Steve said, as they all prepared to leave.

"Sure thing, Steve." Jerry said.

A couple minutes later, Steve and Jerry were alone.

"I just wanted to thank you." Steve said. "I am very grateful for the way you have been helping Roni. She still doesn't trust me, but she seems to trust you, and I cannot think you enough."

"Don't mention it." Jerry replied. "Roni's a good kid, and don't worry. She will trust you, she just needs time. You remind her of her Uncle. She loved him, and respected him. But I think she feared him also. He wasn't just physically abusive to her., he was mentally abusive. "

Jerry stopped for a moment, as he tried to think of a way to put the next part.

"He wanted her to be a Navy Seal, but she doesn't want to be. She has other dreams, dreams that mean a lot to her. I am sorry but I promised her I wouldn't tell you what they were, she doesn't think you would understand. In time, she will confide in you."

"Until then, will you continue to be there for her?" Steve asked.

"Of course."

"Maholo." Steve said. "Go on home and get some sleep, you're on babysitting duty tomorrow."

"See you in the morning." Jerry said. "If you need anything tonight, no matter how late it is, call me."

"Will do."

Jerry left and Steve silently walked to the door of his office and looked inside at his sleeping daughter. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he vowed that he would gain her trust and love. They would be a family, he would always protect her.

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

The next morning Steve woke up and looked at his watch, it was a few minutes after six. He stretched and stood up then left Danny's office and walked to his own office silently to check on Roni. He was a little surprised to find her not only awake, but doing pushups in the middle of his office.

"Sorry if I woke you." She said, standing up. "I was trying to be quite."

"You didn't wake me." Steve assured her. "I normally get up early. "How long have you been up?"

"About half an hour." She replied.

"You normally get your day started with pushups?"

"No Sir, normally I go for a long run. But I figured some sit ups and pushups would work for now."

"I usually go for a swim first thing in the morning, when I can." Steve said. "My house, well our house now, sits on the beach. Do you swim?"

"Yes Sir I'm a very strong swimmer."

"You'll love it there then." Steve said. "I don't suppose you had much chance to go surfing in Boston, have you?"

"No Sir, never."

"I'd be more then happy to teach you, it's a lot of fun. And pretty good exercise."

"I'd like that." Roni smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem." Steve smiled back. "How about some breakfast?"

"I could eat."

"Good, I know a great little café close by. They have the best pancakes on the island."

Father and daughter left the building and walked out to Steve's truck.

"After breakfast, we're going clothes shopping." Steve said, as he started the truck and pulled out into traffic. "What kind of clothes do you like?"

"I don't need any clothes." The fourteen-year-old said.

"Yes you do, all you have are two sets of clothes."

"I can only wear one set at a time." She said. "So all I need is two."

"Look, Honey." Steve said. "You need more then two sets of clothes, so we're going shopping."

"No we are not." Roni glared at him. "Food is one thing, I have to have food to survive, so I will accept food from you. But extra clothes are not a necessity, and I will not be indebted to you."

"Fathers buy their daughters clothes all the time without the daughters being indebted to them." Steve said, as he parked his truck in front of a small café. He killed the engine and turned to look at her. "Ohana looks out for one another, and that includes buying things for them."

"No Sir." She said, stubbornly.

"You are the most mule headed person I have ever met." Steve said in exasperation.

"Guess I am your daughter after all."

Steve stared at her for a brief moment, then started laughing. "Guess you're right." He said. "Alright, how about we compromise? Instead of the whole new wardrobe I was planning, how about two more sets of clothes and a pair of pajamas?"

"I don't…." Roni started to say but Steve held up a hand to silence her.

"No more arguing, we are going shopping, so get over it."

"Fine." Roni sighed. She wasn't sure whether to be happy or concerned. She really did want more clothes, she would love a couple pairs of jeans. But every time her Uncle bought her something, he hung it over her head like he was doing her some huge favor that she should be eternally grateful for. And he would remind her that she wasn't worth it, but that it was his duty to provide for her. But she didn't really think that Mcgarrett was like that, at least she hoped he wasn't.

"One more thing before we go eat." Steve said, his voice serious. "So far, two packs of cigarettes have been taken from you. I want to know the truth, how often do you smoke?"

"Not often." Roni replied, looking at her lap.

"My eyes are up here." Steve said, as he gently placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head up. "I'm not angry with you, but I need to know exactly how often not often is."

"I can go a few days without one." She said, deciding to confide in him and tell him the truth. "But then I get really stressed out and might smoke half a pack in one day. Sometimes exercise helps relieve the stress, and sometimes others things help. But sometimes only a cigarette helps."

"What other things?" Steve asked.

"Just other things." Roni said, once again looking at her lap. Art really helped her relieve stress, but she wasn't ready to tell him that. She wasn't ready to tell him that she loved art and that she was really good at it.

"Roni." Steve said, carding a hand gently through her short hair. "I know things are really confusing right now, but I cannot allow you to smoke anymore. If you get stressed, come to me and we will talk it out and work through it together. I promise that I will not get upset if you come to me and tell me you need a cigarette. You won't get one, but we will come up with another way to relieve the stress."

"Yes Sir." Roni said, relief evident in her voice. "I hate smoking, I know it's bad for me. But sometimes it's easier to light up then it is to handle being so stressed."

"We will work together to help you kick the habit." Steve smiled, gently cupping the side of her face with his large hand. "We can work through anything together, remember that."

He ruffled her hair and added. "Let's go eat, I am starving."

"Me too." Roni smiled.

Father and daughter climbed out of the truck and headed towards the café. The area was full of small shops that were decorated for Christmas. They passed a man in a Santa suite collecting money outside one of the shops. Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out some money, dropping it in the bucket.

"Mele Kalikimaka." Santa said.

"Mele Kalikimaka." Steve Returned the greeting.

Steve and Roni walked into the small café and went to a back booth. The waitress nodded towards them, letting them know she would be there shortly.

"It is only December the tenth and I am already so sick of seeing red and green everywhere I look." Roni said, roughly shoving a small paper Christmas tree from in front of her.

Steve caught the tree before it fell from the table and sat it back on the table.

"Keep that up and you'll be on Santa's naughty list." Steve said.

"Been there since birth." Roni remarked.

"Aloha, Steve." The waitress said, as she walked over. She was a short and heavy set older woman. "Who is your young friend?"

"Melian." Steve greeted the woman. "This is my daughter, Roni."

"Daughter?" She asked in confusion, I did not know you had a daughter."

"She's a bit of a surprise to me too." Steve said. "But a very good surprise."

"It is very good to meet you, Sweetie." The woman gave the teen a warm smile.

"Nice to meet you too, Ma'am." Roni said.

"What would you two like?" She asked.

"Short stack of pancakes." Steve said, without bothering to look at the menu. He had been there enough times to know it by heart. "Bacon, scrambled eggs, and coffee."

"And you, Dear?" the waitress asked Roni.

"Short stack of pancakes." She said, quickly scanning the menu. "A small fruit salad, and a glass of two percent milk."

"Coming right up."

"So you are not in the Christmas spirit?" Steve asked his daughter, as he placed the paper tree in front of her.

"It's just another day." Roni said, with a shrug.

"Christmas is so much more than just another day." Steve said.

"Might have been a very long time ago." Roni said. "But now it's just about money. Places like this decorate and the workers put on Santa hats and smiles and make people want to spend more money. That guy out there that you gave the money too, chances are he will pocket most of the money."

"Roni, you do even know that man. It is not right to judge someone you don't know."

"I'm not judging him, just human nature." Roni said.

"So you think it's human nature to con people out of money." Steve asked.

"Don't you? With everything you've seen as a cop, don't you find it hard to accept that this Christmas crap is genuine and not just a snow job by the large stores?"

"I have seen a lot of horrible things." Steve admitted. "Both as my time as a Navy Seal and as my time as Commander of Five 0. But I have also seen a lot of very good things. I have seen true acts of kindness and love. It balances out, sometimes it's just hard to see that balance. But if you look, you will see it. Might even see the goodness outweigh the bad."

Before Roni could reply, the waitress came back with their order. She sat the food and drinks on the table and gave Steve a warm smile.

"Discovering you have a daughter is a very special occasion, Steve." She said. "Breakfast is on the house today."

"Maholo, Melian." Steve returned the smile.

"Mele Kalikimaka." She said.

"Mele Kalikimaka." Steve replied.

"I am assuming that means Merry Christmas, Ma'am." Roni said.

"That's right, Dear." She said.

"I'm not sure I can repeat that without getting tongue tied, so I'll stick with Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Dear." Melian said. "I know you will like having Steve as a Father, he is a real good man. And if he gives you any trouble, just let me know. "

"Thank you." Roni smiled.

"Enjoy your food." Melian said, then walked to another table to wait on more customers.

Steve poured syrup on his pancakes, and roni spread some all natural strawberry spread on hers.

"I'm guessing you're into healthy eating?" Steve remarked.

"Not always." Roni replied. "I balance it out. I love stuff like fresh fruits and vegetables and baked chicken. But I also like greasy cheeseburgers and fries on occasion. And I love Skittles, they belong in a food group all their own."

They talked about the different foods they liked as they ate and about other small things. Steve knew they would have to have a much more serious conversation later on about her Mom, especially if they proved that she did kill Philip Harris, but for now he was content in just enjoying small talk and breakfast with his daughter.

TBC….

 **Sorry for the long time between posts, I have been doing a lot of overtime at work. I am now off till Tuesday, so I will have another one up this weekend. Maybe more then one.**

 **I was only planning writing one story with Roni, but I am really enjoying writing this and my plot bunny has given me more ideas. Would anyone be interested in me turning this into a series?**

 **I have plot ideas about Kono and Adam having a baby and about them adopting a young boy. And I have other ideas as well. If anyone is interested, let me know and I will turn this into a series.**

 **But be warned, if I do then I will continue to put spankings in the story.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I changed another thing about the show. In this story, Aunt Deb is not dead and did not get cancer.**

 **I want to think everyone for the reviews and alerts. A few people said they would like this turned into a series, so I am turning it into one.**

After breakfast, Steve and Roni left the café and returned to Steve's truck. Steve started the engine and pulled out into traffic.

"Now for some shopping." Steve said. "There's a mall not far from here, Danny's daughter swears it's the best place on the island to shop for clothes. They have all the popular brands."

"Any place will work." Roni said. "I wear clothes that are comfortable and practical, I couldn't care less about the name printed on the label."

"Another thing we have in common." Steve smiled. "But Grace will be very disturbed to learn that a teenage girl isn't interested in name brand clothes."

"Like I said before, I'm not your typical teenage girl." Roni replied.

"Yeah, I know." Steve said. "But the mall has several clothing stores, I'm sure you can find some clothes you like."

"Thank you, Commander." Roni said, looking at him. "I know I can be stubborn at times, but you were right. I could use some more clothes."

"Well in your defense, you come by your stubbornness naturally. After all, you are my kid."

"That's what Jerry said." Roni smiled. "In fact, he said I only inherited a little bit of your stubbornness. According to him, you are about the most mule headed person on the planet."

"Jerry's usually right about things." Steve chuckled.

"I know." Roni said. "He's a smart man."

"That he is." Steve agreed.

They rode is silence for a few minutes, each lost in thought. Roni was really considering telling the man about her art skills, she was starting to trust him. He seemed like the kind of person who would support her in her decision to not be a Navy Seal. In her choice to pursue a career in the art field.

"Tomorrow, I want to introduce you to a couple people." Steve said, breaking the silence. "My sister and her daughter. Your Aunt Mary will be extremely excited to meet you, and little Joanie will absolutely adore you."

"Do you have any other family?" Roni wanted to know.

"My Mom, your Grandmother. She travels a lot, I haven't spoken to her in about three months. She'll be excited to meet you as well. Then there's Joe, I used to call him Uncle Joe when I was younger. He's like a second Dad to me, he's a great man.

He's in Montana right now, but he's coming down in a few days to spend Christmas with us. He's Ex Navy Seal as well, now he's a cattle rancher. And of course there is Aunt Deb. Aunt Deb lives in LA, but Mary and I have been trying to convince her to move here. She's a truly amazing woman, she raised Mary from the time she was ten. She's coming down in a few days as well."

"Sounds like an interesting group." Roni said, as she looked out the window.

"Our family tree is full of nuts." Steve said with a smile. "But they are good nuts. We are pretty close, here lately anyway. There for a long while we weren't."

Steve parked the truck several yards away from the entrance to the mall, the parking lot was packed.

"Looks like we're going to have to hike." Steve said.

"Look, if you have other things to do. We can do this later, it's no big deal." Roni said, not wanting to be a burden to the man whom she was starting to trust and respect.

"I have nothing better to do, Sweetie." Steve assured her with a warm smile. "I am enjoying spending the morning with my amazing daughter."

Roni returned the smile. "I'm enjoying it too." She replied.

They climbed out of the truck and headed towards the mall entrance, weaving through the crowd of shoppers. Once inside, Roni looked around and rolled her eyes with huff.

"Something wrong?" Steve asked.

"Just tired of Christmas decorations." Roni replied. "This place looks like Santa's workshop exploded."

"Speaking of santa." Steve said, nodding towards a man in a Santa Clause suite sitting in a chair. "Want to take your picture with him?"

Roni glared at Steve for a moment, then the glare was replaced with a smirk. "Only if you do it first."

"Okay." Steve said, to Roni's total surprise. "Let's go." He grabbed her hand and started towards the man in red.

"Hang on." Roni exclaimed, planting her feet and pulling her hand free. "I changed my mind."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Then let's go shopping." Steve chuckled.

They walked through the mall for a few minutes, then Roni saw a clothes store that looked interesting so they walked in. Steve grabbed a shopping cart and they walked over to the jeans section.

"Pick as many as you want." Steve said.

"A couple pairs are plenty." Roni said, quickly picking out two pairs of jeans and tossing them into the cart.

"Grab a few pairs of shorts." Steve said, a few moments later when they walked past a large display.

"I don't….." Roni started, but Steve held out his hand to silence her.

"You said you usually start out the day with a run." Steve reminded her. "It is a lot more comfortable running in shorts, especially when it's hot and humid outside."

Roni nodded, he had a point. She picked out a pair of cotton shorts and a pair of cargo shorts.

"Now for some shirts." Steve lead her over to a display of tee shirts and she picked out four of them.

"That should do it." Roni said.

"Not quite." Steve said. "You still need shoes, unless you want to wear those boots with shorts. Even I know that wouldn't look good. You also need socks, under things, and swim suites. Remember our house sits on the beach, and I'm going to teach you to surf. You need swim suites."

Roni picked out a pair of running shoes, a pair of flip flops, a pack of plain white socks, a six pack of boy brief panties, and a four pack of sport bras pretty quickly. But the swim suits were more difficult. She had never worn one and wasn't sure which ones would fit her.

"Sorry it's taking so long." Roni said.

"Take as much time as you need." Steve said. "Just make sure to pick out something that's decent." There was no way he would allow his daughter to walk out of the house in some of the bikinis some of the teenagers wore.

The previous year, grace has tried to leave her house wearing a very skimpy bikini. Danny nearly had a heart attack, and Steve's reaction wasn't much better. He had been over at Danny's house when Grace had tried to sneak out the back. Both men informed her that if she ever tried to wear that again, they would take turns spanking her.

"Excuse me." A middle aged Hawaiian Native said, as she walked over. "I don't mean to intrude, but I couldn't help but overhear you." She smiled at Roni and asked. "You must not be used to wearing these."

"No Ma'am." Roni returned the smile. "I'm from Boston, never had an occasion to wear one."

"Well, don't you worry." The woman said. "I have lived here my entire life, and I refuse to tell you how long that is. I have three younger sisters, two daughters, and five granddaughters. I know a thing or two about swim suits."

She walked over to one of the displays and said. "Any one of these should fit you just fine, there are one and two piece suites there." Then she winked at Steve and added. "And your Daddy might only have a very minor stroke when you wear one in front of all the cute boys on the Island."

"Mahele." Roni said, then she frowned. "That's not right, is it?"

"No, Dear. It's not." The woman laughed. "I think you mean maholo."

"Maholo, Ma'am." Roni said.

"A'ole pilikia." The woman said, then she returned to her own shopping.

"Did she cuss me out?" Roni whispered to Steve after she was out of earshot.

"No." Steve chuckled. "A'ole polikia means you are welcome."

"A'ole polikia." She repeated slowly so she could remember it.

"Good." Steve said. "We'll have you speaking Hawaiian in no time."

"No thanks." Roni said. ""A'ole polikia." She repeated slowly so she could remember it.

"Good." Steve said. "We'll have you speaking Hawaiian in no time."

"No thanks." Roni said. "The last thing I want to do is speak the native language of this abysmal rock."

"What is it exactly that you don't like about this place?" Steve asked, as she picked out two of the swim suits, both two piece sets.

"I guess I'm just not used to it." Roni sighed. Truth was, she wasn't sure why she hated Hawaii.

"It'll take time." Steve said, as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to his side. "But you will start to love this place, and see it as your home."

Roni stiffened and then pulled away from the hug.

"Guess that's it." She said. "I'm all set."

"Then let's go check out." Steve said, trying not to let the disappointment of her not returning the hug show.

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Steve and Roni walked into the Five 0 headquarters and saw that the main office was empty, except for Jerry.

"Hey guys." Jerry greeted them. "How was the shopping trip?"

"It went great." Roni replied with a smile. "The Commander bought me a lot of clothes, they're out in his truck."

"Where is everyone?" Steve wanted to know.

"Chasing leads." Jerry said, not wanting to say anything else in front of Roni.

"Roni." Steve said.

"I know." Roni sighed. "Office." Then she walked to Steve's office and went inside shutting the door behind her.

"Wow." Steve said, a little surprised that she listened to him knowing that they were going to discuss Coleman and possibly her Mom.

"You're getting through to her." Jerry said. "She's starting to trust you."

"I hope so." Steve replied. "So, what leads are they chasing?"

"One of the men arrested with Coleman said that he spends a lot of time at the horse tracks, so Danny and Chin went to check out one. Lou and Kono went to check out the other."

Steve's phone rung and Steve answered it. He spoke for a couple minutes, then hung up.

"Meagan Harris is awake." Steve said.

"Good, maybe she can tell us where to find Coleman." Danny said, as him and Chin entered the room. "The horse track was a bust, Lou called and said they struck out too. So unless the Hawaiian Villa pays off tonight, we are back to square one."

"Danny, you and I will go to the hospital. Chin, why don't you talk to the DEA and see if you can find anything that connects the Vargas cartel to Coleman."

"Alright." Chin said.

"Now for the hard part." Steve said, as he walked towards his office.

Roni was sitting on the couch when Steve walked in.

"What's up?" She asked.

Steve sat on the couch beside her and said. "Your Mom is awake."

"Then let's go." She said, standing up.

"Not so fast." Steve said, gently grabbing her wrist and pulling her back onto the couch. "Danny and I are going to go talk to her, I want you to stay here for the time being."

"No way, Sir." Roni said angrily, as she once again stood up. "I am going." Then she stormed out of the office.

"Veronica!" Steve called after her, his voice stern. But she continued walking.

"Roni." Jerry , stepping in front of her and stopping her. "You need to settle down." His voice was soft and comforting.

"No I don't." Roni argued.

"The hell you don't." Steve said angrily as he stalked over to them and glared at the young girl. "You are extremely close to landing yourself into a lot of hot water."

"Jerry, move and let me pass." Roni said, ignoring her Father completely.

"Veronica, return to my office now." Steve demanded.

"No Sir." She spat out, turning to face him. "Mom is in an even more weakened state then normal. I am not going to let you go harass a confession out of her."

"I am not going to harass her, I am going to question her." Steve said, trying to control his temper. He knew getting angry and shouting at her would only make things escalate, but she was really getting on his nerves.

"Bull shit, I know how this works!" Roni shouted at him. "I knew you were just like all the others, I knew I couldn't trust you! I can't believe I was going to tell you about what I really wanted to do with my life!"

"Roni, calm down." Steve said, his voice low but stern.

"Go to hell, Commander!"

"That does it." Steve said. "You have just earned yourself a trip over my knee."

"Steve." Jerry said. "You know you can't spank her when you're mad, and you really need to go talk to Meagan."

Steve glared at him, but Jerry didn't back down. "You need to calm down first, and you know it."

"Jerry's right." Danny said. "You know you need to calm down, Babe."

"Office. Now." Steve said to Roni, then he turned and walked out of the office. Danny was right behind him.

"I am not going back into that man's office." Roni said to no one in particular.

"Come on." Jerry said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Let's go into Danny's office."

Jerry and Roni walked into Danny's office and Roni ran a hand through her short hair. "I really need a smoke." She said, trying to calm down.

She felt betrayed, the Commander was just like her Uncle. He didn't care who he hurt, as long as he got what he wanted. Mcgarrett wanted Coleman, and he was willing to hurt her Mom in order to get him.

"Smoking is bad for you." Jerry said. "Why don't you have a seat and draw something?"

Jerry knew he had to get the girl to calm down before Steve returned. He knew there was no way Steve would ever hurt her, no matter how angry either one of them got. But he also knew that words could hurt worse then a slap in the face.

Jerry found a stack of printer paper and a pencil and handed them to the teen. "Draw me a picture, please."

"Sure." She sat down and started drawing. Jerry sat beside her and watched her hand fly as she drew. Within a few minutes, Jerry was looking at a picture of Steve being chased through a jungle by a large lion.

Jerry laughed, then said. "You do know that there are no lions in Hawaii, don't you?"

"Maybe not." Roni replied, as she laid that piece of paper on the desk and started another drawing. "But I am calmer now."

"Good." Jerry said, leaning over and kissing her on the top of her head. "I am going to go grab us some lunch, keep drawing until I get back."

"Okay." She reached out and grabbed his hand, looking into his eyes. "Thank you, Jerry."

"Anytime, that's what ohana's for." Jerry said. then he left the office.

Roni drew a couple more pictures, feeling more and more calm as she did. After the third one, she stood up to stretch. She felt calm now, but still mad at Steve. Roni was about to sat back down, when she saw a manila folder on Danny's desk with Woodall's name on it.

Curious, she picked it up and flipped through the contents. It was Woodall's statement about Meagan Harris being the one who killed Phillip Harris. As she read, the anger and hurt returned.

They all knew that Woodall was trying to frame her Mom, and they were all lying to her about it. Even Jerry. The thought that Jerry had betrayed her hurt her worst then she thought imaginable.

The young teenager felt as if she couldn't catch her breath, she felt like she was suffocating.

"You okay, Roni?" Jerry asked, as he walked in and saw the look of shock on her face.

"You fucking bastard!" Roni screamed, as she threw the folder at him. the folder hit him in the chest and fell to the floor.

"Roni, what's wrong?" Jerry asked in concern.

"How could you do this to me!" she shouted, unable to stop the tears from springing to her eyes.

"Do what, Roni? What is wrong?" Jerry asked.

Roni shoved past him and ran from the room. The main office was empty, so there was no one there to stop her.

"Roni, wait!" Jerry ran after her, but was not able to keep up with her. She was gone.

TBC…..


	7. Chapter 7

Steve and Danny were in Danny's car riding towards the hospital. Steve's hands gripped the steering wheel tight enough to turn his knuckles white.

"What?" Steve asked, when he caught Danny looking at him.

"I didn't say anything." Danny replied.

"No, but you were thinking that I'm a horrible Dad." Steve replied.

"Oh, so now you're a mind reader?" Danny asked. "For your information, that is not what I was thinking."

"Maybe not." Steve sighed. "But it was what I was thinking."

"Steven, you are not a horrible Dad. Granted, you did act like a big goof a little while ago. But you are not a bad Father."

"I did handle that pretty badly." Steve sighed.

"Let me ask you a question, what reason did you give to Roni for her staying at the Palace instead of going with us to the hospital?"

"None." Steve replied. "Just told her to stay put."

"That was one goof up." Danny said. "I know you are the Father and Roni should obey you. But teenagers need to be told why they are given orders. Don't get me wrong, Roni was in the wrong here, she had no reason speaking to you like that. Both of you made mistakes here.

But that doesn't make you a horrible Dad, and it does not make Roni a bad daughter. Goof two you made was that you didn't give yourself time to calm down. You should have stepped back once you realized that Jerry stopped Roni from leaving the office, and you should have taken several deep breaths and calmed down. Then you should have dealt with her."

"You make this parenting thing look so easy." Steve said, as he parked in front of the hospital.

"Trust me, looks can be deceiving." Danny said. "I have been a parent for fifteen years, and am still making mistakes. Kids should really come with an instruction booklet."

"Are you kidding? Gracie and Charlie are amazing kids and you are an amazing Father."

"Thank you." Danny said, as they exited the car and headed towards the building. "But it takes hard work. There are still times when I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing."

Danny stopped walking and grabbed Steve's arm to stop him as well.

"Look, Steve." He said. "Being a Dad is scary as hell, it really is. But one thing that has helped me all of these years is the fact that I am not alone in this. Ever since Grace was eight-years-old and you came into our lives, I knew that you had my back in this. I knew that no matter what happened, you would be there for her. I knew that you were always there to listen to my rants and would always be there to lend a helping hand.

You are not alone in this, Babe. I've got your back. And so does Chin, Kono, Lou, Jerry, Mary, Kamakono, and the rest of us. We are all in your corner and always will be. I know there are going to be days when you feel all alone. When that happens, pick up the phone and give me a call. Day or night."

"Thanks Danny." Steve smiled.

Both men began walking again and were soon standing in front of Meagan's room.

"No one had questioned her yet, Commander." One of the officers guarding the door said. "I handcuffed her to the bed as soon as she woke."

"Maholo." Steve said, as him and Danny entered the hospital room.

"Steve." The woman laying in bed said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Meagan Harris was a small woman, short and extremely skinny. Her skin was sunken in and pale, her shoulder length brown hair was a tangled mess. Dark bruises covered her face and arms.

"I am here to question you about the murder of Philip Harris and the whereabouts of Markus Coleman." Steve said, trying to remain calm.

"I've got nothing to say to you." Meagan said.

"Too bad." Steve said, his voice low and hard. "Because I've got a hell of a lot to say to you."

"I know my rights." She said. "I want a lawyer."

"How could you put your own daughter through everything you did?" Steve asked, as he took a step towards her. "Roni loves you, how could you betray her? How could you betray my daughter?"

Meagan's eyes went wide for a moment, then she smirked. "I'm surprised you don't have a bullet hole in the center of your forehead, if you met up with Roni."

"She no longer believes the lies you've told about me." Steve said, his voice still hard. "She knows that I never knew about her."

"Too bad." Meagan said. "I was hoping she would kill you, once she landed in Hawaii. You see, Roni has a temper on her."

"Roni is a good kid." Steve growled. "And she will make something out of her life without your influence on her."

"She is my daughter." Meagan spat out angrily. "She will do as I say."

"Not anymore." Steve replied. "You lost custody a long time ago."

Steve's phone rung and he looked at the caller ID, then he motioned for Danny to follow him and he walked out into the hallway.

"Hey Jerry." He said, as he answered the phone. He listened for a few moments, then closed his eyes and sighed. "It's not your fault, Jerry." He assured the man on the other end of the phone. "We'll find her, don't worry."

"Let me guess." Danny said, as Steve hung up. "Roni ran?"

"Yeah." Steve said, his voice sounding a lot more frail then normal. "Jerry said she was in your office alone for a few minutes and saw Woodall's statement. She thinks we all betrayed her, even Jerry."

"I am so sorry, Steve." Danny said. "I should have never left that file in my office."

"It's not your fault, Danny." Steve assured him.

"So, what's the plan?" Danny wanted to know.

"We remove the officers from Meagan's door." Steve replied. "You and I will be inside the room."

"Good plan." Danny agreed. ''Roni will come here, so we just wait on her."

"She was starting to trust me, Danno." Steve said sadly. "I should have told her about Woodall's claim."

"You were trying to protect her." Danny reminded the man. "You didn't want to hurt her, you wanted to make sure Meagan was guilty before you told her."

"Now she really hates me." Steve said, sounding heartbroken.

"You will get through to her, Steve." Danny said. "It will take time, but you will get through. Roni is a smart kid, she will come around."

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Roni was sitting in an alley, her back against the brick wall and her knees drawn up to her chest. She had her arms wrapped around her knees and was crying. She hated crying, it made her feel weak. But she couldn't stop the tears.

She couldn't believe Jerry would betray her, would use her to get a confession out of her Mom. But he did. Roni took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself. She knew that she had to calm down, she had to stay focused in order to help her Mom.

After reading the report, it made since to her. She believed that there was a real possibility her Mom killed her Uncle. That fact hurt her, it hurt to know that her Mom was capable of murder. But that did not change the fact that she was her Mom, or the fact that she still had to protect her.

Taking another deep breath, Roni stood up and wiped her eyes. She knew that Magarrett had probably already gotten a confession out of her Mom. She knew what she had to do. It was the only way to save her Mom.

Roni stepped out of the alley and started walking through the crowds of people, easily picking a man's pocket for his cell phone, a lighter, and a pack of cigarettes. They were menthol, but they would have to do. Then she slipped into another alley and made a phone call.

"Hounululu Police Department." The voice on the other end said. "How may I direct your call?"

"Homicide division, please. It's about an unsolved murder."

"Hold on for a moment."

"Homicide Division." Another voice said. "Detective Eddie Milikki speaking."

"My name is Veronica Harris." Roni said. "Seven months ago, I murdered Philip Harris in Boston."

"You murdered a man?" The man asked, "How old are you?"

"Fourteen, and Yes I murdered my Uncle. He was going to send me away and I became angry, I have a bad temper problem. I shot him five times with a Beretta hand gun. I left his body in an abandoned warehouse where it was discovered."

"Where are you at now?" The detective asked. "We need to speak in person."

"I will turn myself over to the police department in the morning; I have a few things to take care of first." Then she hung up and tossed the phone into a dumpster.

The young girl took another deep breathe, trying to remain calm. She was scared, she wasn't sure she could handle being locked up. But she had no choice. She had to protect her Mom. She lit one of the cigarettes and took a long drag from it. She felt guilty smoking, knowing that Mcgarrett told her not too. But she wasn't sure why she felt guilty, he had betrayed her.

After smoking three of the cigarettes, Roni left the alley and headed toward the hospital. Once there, she hung around the admitting desk until the receptionist left. Then she quickly used the computer to find out which room her Mom was in.

Roni made it to the fourth floor and noticed that there was no one standing outside the door. She knew that that could only mean that someone was inside the room waiting on her to show up.

Roni enter another room and quickly removed the air vent, then climbed into the venting system. Finding her Mom's room was pretty easy, but she sighed when she saw Mcgarrett and Detective Williams sitting in the room. With a deep sigh, Roni laid still and waited.

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Inside Meagan's room, Steve and Danny were sitting by the window. Both men were quite.

Steve's phone rung and he answered it, his facial expression turning hard and angry.

"Thanks, Duke." He said, then hung up.

"What's up?" Danny asked his partner.

Steve ignored Danny and stood up and walked over to stand beside Meagan's bed. His eyes were cold and his voice was hard as he spoke.

"You really have that little girl thinking you are weak and helpless, don't you? You have been manipulating her all of these years, getting her to take your beatings for you. Getting her to cover for you. Was it your plan all along for Roni to find out you killed your brother and her take the blame?"

"Roni confessed?" Danny asked, standing beside Steve. He had stood up and followed him over to the bed, ready to intervene in case he needed too. Steve normally didn't hit women, unless it was self defense. But he knew that the other man really wanted to put a bullet into Meagan's head. He did too, but he knew it would not help the situation any.

"Yeah, called the PD and said she would turn herself in in the morning." Steve said, without taking his eyes off of the woman laying in bed. His glare intensified and she started to look nervous.

"Are you really going to just lay there and let your fourteen-year-old daughter take the rap?" Steve growled.

"Of course." Meagan said, as she tried to sound like Steve's intense glare wasn't scaring her. "Roni has a temper, it does not surprise me that she killed her Uncle."

"You stupid bitch!" Steve growled, as he lunged forward and grabbed her shoulders. "I ought to rip your damn head off!"

"Easy, Babe." Danny said, as he grabbed Steve's arm and pulled him away from the woman. Meagan looked at Steve with wide eyes, completely rattled.

"She's just a kid." Steve growled, pulling his arm away from Danny's grip. He continued to glare at Meagan, but took a step back. He knew that hurting the woman would make things worse.

"She's a mistake." Meagan said, getting angry that Steve had scared her. That he was taking Roni's side against her's. "She is a worthless mistake that I should have aborted when I found out I was pregnant."

"So you killed her Uncle to get even with her about something?" Danny asked, trying to make sense of how a Mother could talk about her own daughter the way Meagan was. "Because Philip was going to tell Steve about her?"

"I killed Philip because he deserved it!" Meagan shouted, extremely angry. They were making it sound like everything was her fault. "He wasn't a saint, you know. He turned against his own country, and was determined to turn Roni against it too."

"He wanted Roni to become a Navy Seal." Steve said.

"He wanted her to become a Seal, so she could learn how to kill." Meagan said. "That's why he has been training her, why he told her that America was great. His plan was for her to get high enough in the Navy, then convince her that this Country betrayed them. That the American Government was full of liars and crooks. Then he was going to convince her to help him plan an attack on American soil."

"And you were going to let him?" Steve demanded, his voice still hard.

"I don't care what happens to the little brat." Meagan spat out. "Never did."

"Why did you kill your brother?" Steve asked.

"Because he was going to tell you about Roni, and I knew you would arrest Markus." Meagan said. "He didn't care about the creature either, but he didn't want her arrested for being a mule. That would put a kink in his plan. Markus was mad at me for killing him, but he stopped being mad after he found out why I killed him. Markus is a good man, he really is. Roni's to blame here, not Markus. I convinced Markus that we could still use Roni, that his plan was still good.

I knew Roni would look for me, I knew she would come here. But I didn't think she would find you first, I wasn't expecting that. Roni ruined everything, like usual. I'm guessing you've turned her against me now."

"No I haven't." Steve said. "I will not let you anywhere near my daughter without me being present, but I will not try to turn her against you. I am not like you, I have a conscience. That's one reason she's pissed at me right now, because I wouldn't let her come see you. I just didn't want her to see you looking like this. I didn't want her to see all of the bruises and iv's attached to you. I wanted to spare her some pain. She knows you were accused of murder, but I didn't tell her. Which is another reason she's pissed. I just wanted to be certain you were guilty before I told her. I was trying to protect her. Something you have never done."

"Why should I protect her?" Meagan asked.

"Because she is an amazing girl with a very bright future." Steve said. "She is a good kid, despite everything you and your brother have done to her and have allowed other people to do to her. She is a very special person."

They heard a noise coming from the Vent and both Steve and Danny drew their weapons. They made their way over to the vent and looked inside, both instantly re-holstering their guns when they saw Roni.

"Roni." Steve said, softly. "Are you okay?"

The young teenager was laying on her stomach, a look of shock on her face.

Steve quickly pulled out a pocket knife and used it to remove the vent cover. He handed the cover to Danny, then very gently reached into the vent and helped Roni out. He sat her on her Feet and carded a hand through her short hair.

"Roni, I was so worried about you."

Roni didn't respond, she was looking at her Mom. The look of shock had been replaced with a hurt look. Her eyes were glistening from unshed tears.

"Roni, Baby." Meagan said, trying to sound near tears herself. She had just realized what she had done, she had confessed to murder. She had to get out of it. "They tricked me, Honey. You know the drugs make me spacey at times. I didn't know what I was saying."

"When you go to trial." Roni said, as a couple tears slipped down her cheeks. "Make sure your lawyer mentions the abuse you suffered from Uncle Philip. And about the drugs. If you're lucky, you may be placed in a hospital instead of prison."

Roni took a deep breath, as more tears fell. She turned and ran from the room. Steve and Danny right behind her.

Roni ran down the hospital corridor, not knowing where she was going. All she knew was that she had to go somewhere. She had to get away from there.

"Roni!" Steve called out to her, as him and Danny chased after her. "Please stop!"

But she continued to run.

"Roni!" Steve called again, his voice stern. He was right behind her by then.

The fourteen-year-old stopped running and turned to face the man, as tears rolled down her face. She was so confused, scared, and lonely. She didn't know what to do, didn't know who to trust.

She heard what Mcgarrett said, knew he was only trying to protect her. She had judged him wrong, she had judged them all wrong.

"Roni." Steve said softly. "I am so sorry you heard all of that. Your Mom is sick, she needs help."

Danny walked a few feet past them and opened a door to an empty waiting room. He gently grabbed both their arms and led them into the room, neither put up any resistance. Once they were in the room, Danny left them, closing the door behind him.

"I blew it, didn't I?" Roni asked Steve, as more tears fell. She felt weak and worthless for crying in front of him, but she couldn't stop the tears. "I blew the one chance I had at having a family, you all hate me now. Mom hates me, I'm all alone. I don't want to be alone."

Then she couldn't hold it back any long and burst into heavy sobbing. Her knees felt weak and she thought for a brief moment that she was going to hit the floor. But Steve rushed forward and wrapped his strong arms around her, hugging her tight.

"You are not alone, Sweetie." He said as she sobbed. "I promise you that you will never be alone again, never. Your Dad's here, and I am not ever letting go. Dad's got you, Roni. Dad's got you."

Roni had stiffened when Steve first hugged her, but she soon melted into the embrace and wrapped her arms around him. She sobbed into his chest.

"It's okay, Sweetie." Steve said, as he continued to hold her tight. "Just let it all out, you're safe now. I promise it will be okay, Dad's got you. Just let it all out Sweetie."

Roni clung to Steve and continued to cry. She felt safe in his strong arms, and she felt loved. Even after all that she had done, he still loved her, still wanted to be her Dad. Roni was still hurt and angry at what her Mom had said, but she was starting to feel that maybe Steve was right. Maybe everything would be okay, maybe she would be okay.

"We are family, Roni." Steve said his voice soft and soothing. "Family sticks together through the good and bad. I am not leaving, and I never will. You will always loved, always be wanted, and always be protected. I promise you that, and I always keep my promises. You will never be alone again, never."

It was several minutes later, that the tears stopped, and several moments after that that Roni released her hold on Steve. He released her as well and took a step back so he could look at her.

"Are you okay, Sweetie?" He asked softly.

"Not really." She answered honestly. "But I will be."

"Of course you will be." Steve smiled.

Roni looked at the man's shirt and winced. It was wet from her tears and from her snot. The shirt was a mess. "Sorry about the shirt."

"Not a problem." Steve assured her. He pulled off his button down shirt being carful not to let it touch the mess on his tee shirt. He tossed it onto a chair, then peeled off his tee shirt.

Steve carefully folded the shirt, so he could a clean part of it and gently wiped away the tears on Roni's face. Then he held the shirt to her nose.

"Blow." He said.

Roni glared at him for a moment, then blew her nose.

Steve then threw the shirt into the trash can and grabbed his button down shirt.

"See, all fixed." He smiled as he buttoned up his shirt. It felt weird wearing the shirt buttoned, but he couldn't walk around in the hospital shirtless.

"I really am sorry for the way I acted." Roni said.

"It's okay, Sweetie." Steve said, as he sat down on one of the chairs and motioned for Roni to sit beside him. "We both handled things badly earlier. You had no call to speak to me that way, and I will tolerate it again. But I should have explained why I wanted you to stay at the palace."

His voice grew stern as he added. "This is the last warning about the language and attitude, understand?"

"Yes Sir."

"This is new to both of us." Steve said, his voice softer. "But like I said before, we can work anything out if we work together."

"Do you think Jerry will forgive me?" Roni asked. "I was rude to him too."

"Jerry doesn't have to forgive you, he was never angry with you. He knew you were hurt and confused, he really cares a lot about you. A little rudeness will never change that. But like I said, the attitude and the language has got to go."

"Yes Sir." Roni said.

"I say we both start over, clean slate for both of us." Steve said. He held out his hand and said, "Hello, I am Steven J Mcgarrett, I am your Father."

"Hello." Roni said with a smile, as she shook the offered hand. "I am Veronica Stevie Harris, I am your daughter."

Tbc!

 **Hello everyone. I want to thank everyone for the reviews and alerts, I appreciate them. I will update again by tomorrow. In the next chapter, Roni will meet more of her ahona.**


	8. Chapter 8

Steve, Danny, and Roni walked into the Five 0 headquarters an hour later. Chin, Lou, Kono, and Jerry were all gathered around the smart table. They turned around as the trio entered.

Roni walked over to Jerry tentatively. Mcgarrett had told her that Jerry wasn't mad at her, but she was not completely convinced. But she became completely convinced when Jerry reached out as soon as she reached him and engulfed her into a tight hug.

"I was so worried about you, Kiddo." Jerry said, as he kissed the top of her head.

"I'm sorry, Jerry." Roni said.

Jerry released her, but then he gently grabbed both her shoulders and took a step back. Looking into her eyes, he said in a stern voice. "Don't you ever do that again. I was worried sick about you."

"I won't. I promise." Roni replied.

"Good." Jerry said, as he once again hugged her.

Once Jerry released her completely, Steve placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We have a lot of planning to do before we go after Coleman tonight, I need you to wait in my office."

"Yes Sir." She said.

"And you had better stay there this time, no matter what." Steve added in a sterner voice.

"I will." Roni said. "But can I talk to you in private for a moment first?"

"Of course, Sweetie." Steve said, leading her into his office. Once there, he shut the door and turned to face her.

Roni shifted from one foot to the other nervously, wondering if she was making the right decision. On the car ride back to the Palace, she had decided to tell the man about her art. But now she was scared.

"What's wrong, Roni?" Steve asked, he could she was worried about something. "Roni, whatever it is, you can tell me."

"Before I told you that there were three things that helped calm me down." Roni said. "One was exercise, one was smoking, and the other one was something that I said you would not approve of."

Steve nodded his head, but remained quite.

"Well, I think I was wrong. I think you would approve of the third thing, in fact, I think you might even encourage the third thing."

"I might." Steve said, when Roni fell silent. "If I knew what the third thing was."

Roni took a deep breath and said. "I'm really into art, and I'm pretty good at it."

"That's wonderful." Steve smiled. "Is that the dream that you told Jerry about? Being an artist?"

"Yes Sir." Roni smiled in relief, he seemed genuinely supportive of her. And he hadn't even seen her art yet, just knew that she loved art.

"There are plenty of career paths involving art." Steve said. "Artist, book illustrator, art critic." Then he smirked and said. "You can even be a police scratch artist, we can be a team. I'll bring you witnesses and you can draw a picture of the perp."

"So you aren't upset at all that I want to be an artist and not a Navy Seal?" Roni asked.

"Of course not, Sweetie." Steve said. "Becoming a Navy Seal was my choice. I mean, sure Dad and Joe had a lot to do with my decision. But the ultimate decision was mine, and I do not regret that decision at all. It was the right thing for me, it was who I was.

You have to choose the right path for you. I will be here to offer support and guidance, but your future is in your hands. You will have to be the one who chooses what path you are going to follow. If art is what you truly want to pursue, then I am a hundred and twenty percent behind you."

"I want to show you something." Roni said, as she grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil from his desk. She started drawing, and after three minutes, she was done. She handed him the paper. It was a drawing of him, a very realistic drawing.

"Wow." Steve said, impressed. "This is …..wow. Where did you learn to draw like this?"

"I just started doodling when I was bored one day when I was six." Roni said. "And I never stopped." She looked down at her feet and said, "Uncle Philip was very much against the idea of me becoming anything but a Navy Seal. I loved and respected him, but I disobeyed him. I just couldn't just not draw."

Steve wrapped his daughter in a hug, which she immediately returned. "You are an amazing artist, I am very proud of you." He said, as he released her. "Jerry told me about the abuse you received from your Uncle."

"I never really thought of it as abuse." Roni admitted, as she once again looked down at her shoes. "I guess deep down I might have known, but I just didn't want to admit it."

Steve gently placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head up, so he was able to look into her eyes.

"It's okay, Roni. You are not alone anymore."

"I know." Roni smiled.

"We need to have a little chat." Steve said, as he sat on the couch and motioned for Roni to sit beside him. "I was going to wait till tonight, but we might as while get it over with now."

"Okay." Roni said.

"The phone you used to call the Police Department was found in a dumpster." Steve said, causing Roni to look down instead of meeting his eyes.

"Eyes up, Roni." Steve's voice was calm, but firm. Roni raised her eyes.

"It was reported stolen along with a pack of cigarettes. Did you still them?"

"Yes Sir."

"Hand them over." Steve held out his hand and she reached into her pocket and pulled out the rest of the pack and handed them to him. "How many did you smoke?"

"Three." She said.

"Even though you knew I told you not to smoke?"

"Yes Sir." She said, lowing her eyes. She was finding it very difficult to look into his eyes knowing she had done wrong.

Steve cleared his throat and she looked back up.

"Is that how you got the money you were going to pay Kamakono with?" he asked. "Pick pocketing?"

"No Sir." She said, knowing he was not going to like the answer.

"Then how?"

"Pool hustling."

"Are those some skills your Uncle taught you?"

"Yes Sir."

"They both end now, so does the smoking. Like I said at the hospital, we are both starting over with clean slates. Whatever wrongs you did in the past are just that, the past. From now on there will be no smoking, no stealing, no hustling pool, and no swearing. Understood?"

"Yes Sir." Roni replied.

"Good." Steve smiled. "Now, I have got work to do. But first, I am going to go brag about my daughter's amazing talent." he stood up and offered his hand to her. Roni accepted the hand and he pulled her to her feet.

Together, they walked back into the main office.

"Attention everyone." Steve said, as they walked over to the group. "I have an announcement to make."

He handed Danny the drawing and said. "My daughter is an extremely talented artist."

Danny looked at the drawing. Lou, Chin, and Kono looked over his shoulders at the drawing. Jerry walked over to Roni, who was looking embarrassed, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Proud of you Kiddo." He said.

Roni smiled at him. She knew he wasn't talking about the drawing. She knew he was talking about the fact the she worked up enough nerve to tell Steve about her art.

"You drew this?" Danny asked the young teenager.

"Yes Sir."

"It's amazing." Danny said.

"Very impressive." Chin said.

"Looks just like him." Lou remarked. Then he winked at her and added. "You were right in leaving out all the wrinkles."

"You are really talented." Kono said.

"Thank you." Roni told the adults shyly. She was not used to complements.

"You are a future Vincent van Gogh" Danny said.

"Can I be Pablo Picasso instead." Roni asked. "I like both my ears on my head."

The adults in the room chuckled and Danny said, "Picasso it is."

"Okay, my little Picasso." Steve said. "Go and wait in my office."

"Yes Sir." She said.

"And Roni." Steve said. "You are not to leave that office without permission for any reason, is that clear?"

"Yes Sir, it's clear."

 **Bluewaters99**

It was nearly three hours later and Roni was sitting behind Steve's desk, drawing. The door opened and Steve walked in, carrying a Styrofoam plate and a plastic bag.

"Your dinner is served, Madam." He said.

"Thanks." Roni said, as Steve sat the plate on the desk. "As you ordered. Cheeseburger, carrot sticks, and water. I also brought you this." He pulled a large bag of Skittles out of the bag and tossed them to her.

"Thank you." Roni smiled.

"Dinner first." Steve said. "We're heading out now. Jerry will be in the main office if you need anything, but I don't want you going out there without hollering out first. He's going to be working on the case from the smart table and I don't want you to out there."

"Yes Sir." Roni said.

"We will be back soon."

"Be careful." Roni said. "Coleman is a dangerous man and he's not above killing cops."

"Don't worry, I've got my team watching my back. And I'm watching theirs."

Steve left the office, then him and his team left the building. Within half an hour, they were sitting outside where they were told Coleman was meeting the Vargas cartel.

"Everyone keep their eyes open." Steve said into his ear piece. Him and Danny were sitting in Danny's car. The others, along with several units from HPD, were sitting in various vehicles around the building. "Coleman is going to be armed, and so are the Vargas boys."

"I have a visual on the Vargas cartel." Chin's voice said. "East side entrance. There are four of them, all heavily armed. All four are wearing dark suits and are built like brick chicken houses."

"I have never seen a brick chicken house before." Danny remarked.

"They are built like the Incredible Hulk after someone pisses him off." Kono's voice said.

"Now that is a better description." Danny said.

"I got a visual on Coleman." Lou's voice said. "West side entrance, he's alone. And armed."

"I've got them all." Abby's voice said. She was inside the club, posing as a waitress. "They are heading towards a back room, a heavily guarded back room."

"Everyone move in, slowly." Steve said. "We do not want to spook them and cause a hostage situation."

Within a few minutes, the Five-0 team and the HPD had entered the building and cleared out everyone except those in the back room. The men guiding the room were now in custody.

"You two ready?" Steve asked Kono and Abby. Both were wearing very short dresses and heels, which was the waitress uniforms of the club.

"Ready Boss." Kono replied.

"Ready." Abby said.

Steve nodded, and they both walked into the back room carrying trays of drinks. They were supposed to see how many people were in the room. If Coleman and the Vargas cartel were alone, then they were supposed to give the signal for the police to enter.

"Who are you?" Coleman demanded of the women as they entered.

"We just brought you some drinks, handsome." Kono said, with a wink.

"Come on Coleman, lighten up." One of other men said, as he smiled at the two woman. "We could use some company."

"Yeah." Another one of the men said, as he walked over and placed a hand on Abby's shoulder. "How about coming over and sitting on my lap, sugar?"

"I've got a better idea." Abby purred.

"Oh really?" the man asked with a large smile. "And what is that?"

"I arrest you." Abby said, dropping the tray to the floor and punching the man in the nose. He staggered backwards, cursing.

The door burst open and several officers and the rest of Five 0 burst into the room with their guns drawn.

"Five 0!" Steve shouted. "Hands up!"

The Vargas men did as they were ordered. But Coleman quickly ran out of a back door that the officers had not known was there.

"I've got him!" Steve said, as he ran after the man. Danny was close behind him. They chased him through a hallway and then out of the building, losing sight of him when he ducked into an alley.

Steve and Danny both entered the ally, their guns drawn. They saw the man stomping on something on the ground.

"Freeze!" Steve shouted, pointing the gun at him. "Hands on your head, and back away!"

Coleman did as he was told and Danny quickly cuffed him.

Steve looked at what the man had been stomping on, it was a cell phone. The phone was smashed and completely destroyed.

 **Bluewaters99**

Roni was still sitting at Steve's desk when Jerry opened the door and smiled.

"They have Coleman in custody." He said.

"Everyone okay?" Roni asked.

"Everyone is okay." Jerry confirmed. "Come on, let's play frogger on the smart table."

"Isn't that against the rules?" Roni asked with a laugh as she stood up and followed him out of the office.

"Only if we get caught." Jerry answered. "We have to make sure we're done before Captain America gets back."

"Captain America?" Roni asked.

"My nick name for your Dad."

"Good choice for a name."

They walked over to the smart table and Jerry started touching the screen.

"Excuse me." A voice said. They turned to see a middle aged man in an expensive suite standing there.

"Can I help you?" Jerry asked.

"Fuller." Roni said, in shock.

Jerry saw the scared look on the young girl's face and quickly stepped in front of her, placing himself between the man and her.

"I think you should leave, before I arrest you." Jerry said, trying to sound as authoritative as he could.

"Come now, Mr. Ortega." The man said, as two other men entered the room. Both men were muscled and tall. "You have no authority to arrest anyone. Veronica, you are coming with us."

"No she is not." Jerry said.

"I could not get past your security with a gun." Fuller said. "But I brought my two friends here to ensure that you cooperate."

The two men stepped forward and began walking towards Jerry. He stood his ground and was ready to fight.

"Wait." Roni said, stepping out from behind Jerry. "I will go with you if you don't hurt Jerry. Just tie him up or something."

"She is not going anywhere with you." Jerry said, as he once again stepped in front of the teen.

"Boys." Fuller said.

One of the men grabbed Jerry, who took a swing at the man. The fist landed, but did not knock him down. But the punch that the man threw at Jerry's face knocked him to the floor.

"Jerry!" Roni yelled.

The other man grabbed Roni's arm, her response was to kick him hard in the groin. The man let go and doubled over in pain.

The man who had punched Jerry, walked towards her. But Jerry, who was still in the floor, reached out and grabbed the man's legs. The man fell to the floor.

"Run Roni!" Jerry shouted, holding onto the man's legs.

The man who Roni had kicked, had recovered somewhat and grabbed her arm again. Then he slapped her hard across the face. If he had not been holding onto her arm, she would have fallen to the floor.

"Don't you touch her!" Jerry shouted, getting to his feet and grabbing the man by the shoulders, knocking him backwards. The sudden movement caused him to release his hold on her arms.

"Get out Roni!" Jerry ordered.

But before the girl could move, the other man grabbed her from the back, pinning her arms to her sides.

The man Jerry was holding, broke free from his grasp and punched Jerry in the face, once again knocking him to the ground. Then he kicked him in the ribs hard.

"Leave him alone!" Roni screamed. "Please, don't hurt him!"

The man kicked him in head and Jerry passed out.

"Jerry!" Roni screamed.

"Keep quite." Fuller demanded, glaring at her. "You are going to walk out of here with us and not make a sound. If you do, we will not kill the hero here."

"Okay." Roni agreed.

"Good girl."

Roni had no choice be to do as she was told.

Tbc…

 **Sorry to leave it there, but I need to get to bed. I have to go to work early in the morning. I know I said that Roni would meet more of her Ohana in this chapter, but I didn't get it worked in.**

 **I will post again as soon as I can, probably in a couple days. When I started this story, I was only planning on it being about five or six chapters long, but I am really enjoying writing it so I am making it longer. Hope everyone is enjoying reading it.**

 **As always, I really appreciate the reviews and alerts. They help my muse get creative.**


	9. Chapter 9

It was a little past midnight, when Five 0 was ready to call it a night. They had everyone in custody, and the CSU had been all over the club collecting evidence.

Steve, Chin, Danny, Lou, Kono, and Abby were standing by Danny's car.

"I will see everyone in the morning." Steve said, after a wide yawn. "Everyone get some rest."

Before anyone could respond, Steve's phone rung.

"Hey Jerry." Steve smiled as he answered it.

"Th…..they took Roni." A very slurred voice said weakly.

"Jerry?" the concern in Steve's voice caught everyone's attention. "What happened? Who took Roni?"

"Tried to stop….." Jerry slurred out. "Sorry, Steve." Then Steve heard a crashing sound, then silence.

"Jerry!" He shouted into the phone, but got no response.

"Steve, what's wrong?" Danny asked.

"Roni was kidnapped." Steve said. "Jerry's hurt."

Chin and Lou both stepped away and made phone calls. Lou was getting help for Jerry, and Chin was putting out a Miley Amber Alert on Roni.

 **Bluewaters99**

An hour later, a very frustrated Steve McGarrett slammed his fist onto the smart table. The table shook, but the screen didn't crack.

"Steven." Danny said, calmly.

"With all of this damn technology, we can't find one little kid!" Steve growled.

"We will find her, Steve." Chin assured the man. "We know that Coleman made a call right before he was arrested, that call had to be to whoever grabbed Roni. Roni is of no use to Coleman unless she is alive. He can't use her for a bargaining chip otherwise. Eric has the phone, he thinks he can recover some of the information."

"Whoever they were, they were professionals." Lou said. "They were smart enough to avoid looking into any of the cameras. If they are that smart, then they are smart enough to know that they have to keep Roni alive."

"That was Duke." Kono said, as she hung up her phone. "Coleman is in the dungeon."

Without a word, Steve started walking in that direction. Danny quickly followed him; he knew he had to keep his partner from doing something stupid.

Steve and Danny entered the windowless room and Steve immediately stalked over to the man cuffed to the chair and punched him hard in the face. The force of the blow caused the chair to turn over and land in the floor, with Coleman still cuffed to it.

Danny stood back and waited until he was needed. He knew that Coleman knew where Roni was and he was not above letting Steve injure the man to get the information. But he also knew that he had to be careful not to let Steve carry it too far.

Steve grabbed Coleman and hauled him back up, chair and all. When he spoke, his voice was low and hard. "Where is my daughter?"

Coleman, who now had blood running from a cut lip, laughed. "Looks like I have all the cards now." He said. "You've got enough on me to ensure five life sentences, there is nothing else you can do to me if I admit I know where Roni is. So let's not beat around the bush. I have the kid, and you have the key to these cuffs. Let's make a deal."

Steve leaned over the man and put his face just inches in front of his, his eyes were cold and his voice was calm but extremely intimidating. "Do you really think that there is nothing more I can do to you?"

"Roni will suffer greatly if I do not make a phone call by nine a.m." Coleman said, his voice cracking slightly

"Tell me where my daughter is." Steve growled, as he grabbed the man's shirt and shook him.

"Steve." Danny cut is, as he pried Steve's hands from Coleman. "Calm down."

"You better listen to your boyfriend there." Coleman said, as his voice cracked again. "I would hate to see any harm come to young Roni."

Steve wanted to put a bullet in the man's head after beating him to a bloody pulp. But he knew he couldn't, not until they found Roni. He turned and walked from the room, Danny right with him.

"Anything?" Chin asked, as the two walked into the main office.

"He admitted to having Roni kidnapped." Danny said, as Steve started pacing the room. "He's supposed to call whoever's holding her at nine this morning. He knows Roni is his only get out of jail free card, he's not going to tell us where she is."

"The hospital called." Lou said. "Jerry will be okay, but he's still not awake. He's got a slight concussion, a cracked rib, and various scrapes and cuts. The doc said he won't be awake for a few hours."

Danny's phone rung and he fished it out of his pocket. "It's Eric." He answered the phone, putting it on speaker. "Please say you have something." Danny said.

"The last call Coleman made was to a burner phone." Eric said. "But I was able to pin point where the other person was when the call was placed. I looked through traffic cams and found him. I'm sending his picture now."

"Got it." Danny said, as the image was sent to his phone. He placed it on the smart table and a picture of a man in an expensive suite appeared to screen.

"I ran facial recognition and got a hit." Eric continued. "His name is Ian Fuller, he's a known associate of Coleman and is wanted in Boston for drug smuggling, murder, assault, and a lot more. I checked the camera feed at the airports and found him arriving two days ago under the name Matthew Gregg.

He's registered at the Molokoko Hotel, the entire pent house suite. He's also got a rental car, but the GPS has been disabled. I contacted the company and got some info, I think I can still track the car with the smart chip in the key. I'm working on it now."

"Nice work, Eric." Steve said, sincerely. "Thank you."

"No sweat." The younger man replied. "This is one bad dude, according to the Boston PD he's not afraid to use force when needed. But he's also real smart, he's gotta know Five 0 is after him. He's not dumb enough to hurt Roni."

"Mahalo." Steve said, grateful to the man for trying to comfort him. "Let us know the minute you find his car."

"Will do." Then the line was disconnected.

"It's highly doubtful he's got Roni in the hotel." Steve said. "But Chin, I want you to take the CSU there and go over it with a fine tooth comb. Abby, will you go with him? I will clear it with your CO."

"Of course, Steve." The blond woman said.

"Kono, I'm sure they have video surveillance. Get them to send everything over. Maybe you can find a clue as to where he's taken Roni."

"On it, Boss." Kono said.

Bluewaters99

It was almost six in the morning, nearly six hours since Roni was taken. Steve was growing more and more frustrated and scared as the time went by.

Kono and Lou were standing next to the smart table, looking at footage from the hotel on her laptop. So far, they were not having any luck figuring out where Fuller could have taken Roni. The search at the penthouse suite also yielded no clues. No one remembered seeing a girl matching Roni's description.

Steve, Danny, Chin, and Abby were standing at the smart table combing through what little information they did have.

Steve let out a frustrated huff of air and ran a hand through his hair.

"It'll be okay, Boss." Kono said, her voice soft and comforting.

"Just how the hell do you get that, Kono?" Steve snapped. "It's been six hours and we still have no idea where Roni is!"

Kono gasped slightly in surprise, Steve had never lost his temper with her before. He'd had shouting matches with Danny a couple times. And him and Lou used to argue a lot. Steve had even argued with Chin on the very rare occasion. But never with her.

Chin stepped in front of his cousin. He knew that no matter how frustrated and angry Steve got, he would never actually hit Kono. He was merely trying to prevent any more harsh words from being said.

"Easy, Babe." Danny said, placing a hand on Steve's shoulder.

Steve looked past Chin at Kono, he couldn't believe he had said that to her.

"Kono." Steve said, his voice soft and sad. "I am so sorry."

"It's okay." Kono said. she knew the man was just upset.

"No it's not okay." Steve said. "I had no right to speak to you like that, I am truly sorry."

"I forgive you, Steve." Kono smiled, as she walked past Chin and placed a hand on Steve's arm. "But just remember I get a free pass. The next time you piss me off, I get to yell at you without getting shot."

"It's a deal." Steve returned the smile. "I'll shoot Danny instead."

Before Danny could object, his phone rung.

"It's Eric." Danny said, putting the phone on speaker.

"I tracked the car." Eric's voice said. "It's at the entrance to the Holokana Forest Park, it's been there for about fifteen minutes."

Bluewaters99

Roni was sitting in the back seat of a parked car, one of the large goons was sitting beside her. Fuller and the other goon were sitting in the front. They had been parked in front of the park entrance for several minutes, waiting for the sun to start to rise.

"It's time." Fuller said, as the sky started to lighten.

The goon in the back seat climbed out of the car, then reached in and pulled Roni across the seat and outside. The sudden movement nearly caused her to fall over.

"Hands off!" Roni snapped as she pulled her arm free.

The man was about to backhand her, when Fuller grabbed his arm.

"We need her alive and well." Fuller informed the man.

Then he glared at the teen and said. "Behave yourself, or the next three hours will be a very long hours."

"Where are we going?" Roni asked, as one of the goons grabbed her arm and they started walking it a dense forest. The terrain was rough and Roni knew that any chance of someone following their trail were very slim.

"You will find out when we get there." Fuller said. "Now shut up and walk."

Roni had no choice, but to as she was told. Then a slight smile formed on her face when she remembered what she had in her pocket. Almost a full bag of Skittles. She slowly reached into her pocket and grabbed a few of the small round candies and dropped them onto the forest floor.

The smile quickly faded as she realized that even if she left a trail, it would only do any good if someone knew where to start looking. Her Dad would have no reason to look here, but she had to try. She knew he was looking for her. And she knew he was a very determined man.

They hiked for over an hour, and Roni was almost out of candy. They finally came to a stop inside a small clearing.

"Now we wait." Fuller said.

"For what?" Roni asked.

"For Coleman's call." Fuller answered. "And to find out when I can kill you."

 **Bluewaters99**

Steve stopped Danny's car right beside Fuller's rental car, and both and Danny jumped out with their guns drawn. But after a quick look, they discovered that the car was empty.

Chin's car pulled to a stop and him and Abby got out. Then Lou's SUV stopped and him and Kono climbed out.

"It's clear." Said a frustrated Steve. "They have to have taken her into the forest. With that terrain, it's going to be nearly impossible to follow them quickly. This is going to take time, time we do not have. "

"Maybe not, Boss." Kono called out. She was standing a few feet away, looking down at the ground.

The others quickly walked over and saw what Kono had seen. Three brightly colored round candies.

"There's more here." Danny said, a few feet from the first ones. He smiled and said. "Roni must have read Hansel and Gretel, she left us a bread crumb trail using Skittles."

"I can not believe I am saying this." Abby said. "But let's follow the rainbow."

The group moved silently and quickly through the dense forest, following the trail that Roni had left behind. After a little while, they heard voices and then they saw Roni sitting on the ground in a small clearing. Her ankles were tied together and her hands were tied behind her back.

Fuller and his two men were standing near her, talking in hushed voices.

"If we go in, they will have time to grab Roni as a shield." Steve whispered, as they all crouched down low. He was so relieved that Roni seemed unhurt, but the bruise that was clearly visible on her face pissed him off.

"We need a distraction." Danny said. "Chin, Kono, can you two sneak over to the other side of the clearing and make some noise?"

"One distraction coming up." Chin said, as him and his cousin started for the other side.

"Everyone get ready." Steve said. "I will head straight for Roni, you take out the bad guys."

Everyone nodded, and then waited. But they didn't have to wait long, within a few moments they heard rustling and clicking noises coming from the other end of the clearing. Fuller and his two goons drew their guns and moved towards the sounds.

"Now." Steve said, as he sprinted from the clearing. Danny, Lou, and Abby were right with him.

Fuller and the other two men heard the commotion behind them and turned, but it was too late. Steve was knelling in front of his daughter, shielding her from any stray bullets. Lou punched one of the goons as soon as he turned around, knocking him to the ground. Danny did the same thing to the other goon. And Abby punched fuller.

Within a few seconds, all three men were laying on their stomachs on the ground with their arms cuffed behind them.

"You okay, Baby?" Steve asked, his voice a mix of worry and relief. He gently ran his hands over the girl, searching for injuries.

"How's Jerry?" Roni asked worried. "They hurt him pretty bad."

"He's fine. Just a concussion and broke rib. He will be fine. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay dad." Roni smiled in relief. "I knew you were looking for me."

Not many things rendered Steve McGarrett speechless, but being called Dad for the first time did. He wrapped the teen in a tight hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Nice trick with the Skittles, Roni." Kono smiled at the girl, as she knelt beside her and cut the ropes that had her ankles and wrists bound.

Once her wrists were free, Roni wrapped her arms around Steve. After a few moments, Steve stood up and helped Roni to her feet. He kept a steady grip on her arm and around her waist. He knew that her legs might be wobbly from being tied up.

"You get Coleman?" Roni asked.

"Yeah, we got him." Steve said.

"Good." Roni said. "Fuller said he's the one who wanted me grabbed."

"It's over, Roni." Steve said, as he gently ran a hand over her bruised face. "It's over. Let's go home."

"That sounds like a great idea." Roni replied. "Home sounds great."

 **Bluewaters99**

An hour later, Steve and Roni walked into a hospital room. Steve had insisted that Roni get checked out by a doctor. After she was given a clean bill of health, they stopped by Jerry's room.

Jerry was laying in bed when they came in.

"Hey, Kiddo." Jerry said, opening his arms. Roni rushed over and hugged him. "I am so sorry I let them take you, Roni." He said.

"You did everything you could to stop them." Roni said, as they broke apart. She looked into his eyes, as she held his hand. "You got hurt trying to protect me. You are a very brave man."

"Ohana looks out for each other." Jerry said.

"I believe that now." Roni said. "And I am extremely happy that you are my ohana."

Steve walked over and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"I'm happy you're part of our ohana too." He said, looking at Jerry. "Maholo my brother."

"I'm happy too." Jerry said.

"Come on, Roni." Steve said. "Jerry needs his rest."

"Do we have to go now?" Roni asked.

"Yeah, Steve." Jerry said. "Do you have to leave?"

"Well, we could stay here and discuss why there was a game called Frogger on the smart table." Steve said, giving the man a sideways glance.

"You know, Kiddo." Jerry said, as he pulled his covers up further. "I do need my rest."

"Later, Jerry." Roni laughed, as she leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Get some rest."

"You too, Kiddo. You look like crap." Jerry replied.

"We will discuss the Frogger later." Steve said, as he turned the leave the room.

"Hey!" Jerry called after him. "Remember, means and immunity applies to me too!"

 **Tbc…..**

 **Hope everyone is enjoying this. I know it is after Christmas, but this is going to turn into a Christmas story. I will have another chapter up this weekend.**


	10. Chapter 10

Steve parked his truck in his driveway and killed the engine, he was glad to be home. It had been a long couple of days. Steve glanced to the sleeping teen in the passenger seat and smiled. He was still finding it hard to believe that he was a Father, but he was happy. Happier than he had been in a long time.

Deciding to let her sleep for a couple more minutes, Steve grabbed an arm full of shopping bags. They were the clothes that he had bought Roni from the mall. He carried them into the house and up to his old bedroom, then he returned to the truck. When he got back to the truck, Roni was standing in front of it, looking around.

"Welcome home, Roni." Steve smiled.

"Nice looking house." She commented.

"Come on, we both need showers and bed." Steve said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Sounds like a plan."

Steve lead her inside and up the stairs.

"That's my room." He said, nodding towards one of the doors. "And this one here is your new room." They walked into the bedroom.

The only furnishings were a bed, two night stands, and a small dresser.

"There's a bathroom through that door." he nodded towards a door by the dresser. "There's clean towels in the bottom cabinet. Go ahead and take a shower, I'm heading towards my bathroom to take one."

Roni nodded, then went through the bags sitting in the floor looking for her new pajamas. Steve left the room. He returned to Roni's room twenty minutes later, to find her sound asleep on the bed.

Steve smiled and watched her sleep for several moments, then he gently kissed her forehead and whispered. "Sweet dreams, sweetheart."

Steve went back to his own room and went to bed, falling asleep quickly.

 **Bluewaters99**

Steve woke up and glanced at the clock on the nightstand, he had been asleep for about five hours. He climbed out of bed and quietly walked to Roni's room, finding her asleep. Steve was thinking about laying back down for another hour or two, but then he heard a car pull to a stop outside his house.

Steve quickly and quietly rushed downstairs and opened the door before the visitor could knock and wake up Roni, he was not surprised when the visitor turned out to be his sister and niece

"Uncle Steve!" Five-year-old Joan exclaimed, as she jumped into the man's arms.

"Hey there Sweetpea." Steve said, hugging her, then tossing her in the air and catching her. The little girl giggled. Then Steve placed her on his shoulders, and leaned forward to hug his sister.

"Aren't you going to invite us in?" Mary asked.

"Actually." Steve said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Why don't we walk around back and sat in the lanai for a minute? There is something very important I need to tell you."

 **Bluewaters99**

Roni woke up and stretched, then she sensed that someone was in the room with her. She opened her eyes and saw a small pair of blue ones looking at her. The eyes belonged to a small blond haired girl wearing a pink sun dress.

"Hello." Roni said, slightly confused. She sat up and asked. "Who are you?"

"I'm Joanie." The little girl smiled. "Uncle Steve said I was your cousin."

"Where is Steve?" Roni asked, as she stood up.

"Downstairs with Mommy." Joanie said. Then she whispered. "Shhhh. I'm not 'posed to be in here."

"Then why are you?" A stern voice asked from the doorway. They turned to see Steve standing there. He was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed across his broad chest.

"Oh, good." Mary said, as she rushed past her brother and over to Roni. "You're awake." She wrapped the teen in a tight hug. "I am your Aunt Mary, it is soooooo great to meet you." She gushed.

Roni stiffened unsure of how to react.

"Easy, Mare." Steve chuckled. "Give her a chance to breath."

"I just can't believe Steve has a daughter." Mary said, as she released the teen and took a step back to look at her. "You look just like Steve, except you are way prettier."

"It's nice to meet you Ma'am." Roni said, causing Mary to frown.

"Never call me that, ever. The name it Aunt Mary, Aunt Mare, or Hey You. But not Ma'am."

"Come on, Hey You." Steve said, as he placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. "Let's let Roni get dressed." Then he looked at his daughter and said. "We're making grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit salad. It should all be ready when you get downstairs."

"Okay." Roni replied.

"And you young lady are in trouble." Steve said sternly, as he picked up the five-year-old and settled her on his hip. "You were to stay out of here and let Roni sleep."

"She didn't wake me up." Roni said quickly, not wanting the little girl to get into trouble. "She was being real quite."

"I was being very quite, Uncle Steve." Joanie confirmed.

Steve winked at his daughter, letting her know that the little girl was not actually in trouble. Then him and Mary walked out of the room.

Steve carried his niece downstairs and into the kitchen, where he sat her on the counter and stood in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Steve." She said, poking her bottom lip out and giving him her best sad puppy eyes. "I just wanted to meet my new cousin."

Steve smiled and leaned forward to kiss the top of her head. "I know, Sweetpea. It's okay."

"She's nice." Joanie said.

"Yes she is." Steve agreed.

About that time, Roni entered the kitchen. She was wearing a pair of the jeans Steve had bought her and a new tee shirt.

"Just in time." Mary said, holding up a bowl of chopped fruit. "Time to eat."

Everyone sat at the table and started passing around the food, soon all four were eating.

"So, Roni." Mary said. "What grade are you in?"

"I don't know." Roni replied. "I have been homeschooled my whole life, and I don't really know which level I'm at. I mean, I think I'm smart for my age on some things, and not so much in others things."

"Don't worry about it." Mary said. "When Steve registers you into school, they'll give you a test to take. The test will determine which grade to place you in."

"You've never been to school?" Asked a wide eyed Joanie. "But school is so much fun. I'm in preschool, and I'll be in Kindergarten next year."

"Steve showed me the picture you grew of him." Mary said. "It is totally amazing. You are a marvelous artist."

"Thank you." Roni said.

"It was real pretty." Joanie said. "I like to draw too, but I'm not that good at it."

"It doesn't matter if you're good at art or not." Roni told the younger girl. "Art is about expressing yourself. Art is about letting your emotions guide your hand."

The little girl gave her a confused look.

"Art is about having fun." Roni tried again. "If you like art, then you should draw."

"Very well said." Mary said. "What other interests do you have, Roni"

"I'm really into physical exercise." Roni answered. "Running, swimming, mixed martial arts, among some things." She looked at Steve and added. "Uncle Philip had been teaching me, I was hoping you could continue with the lessons."

"That depends." Steve said, looking at his daughter. "Do you want to learn more because that was how you were raised and what you believe is expected of you. Or are you truly interested in learning more martial arts techniques because it is something you are interested in?"

"It's something I'm interested in." Roni replied. "I do not want to be a Navy Seal, or really any type of solider. But I am truly interested in learning more techniques."

"Then it will be my honor to teach you." Steve smiled.

"What other interests do you have?" Mary wanted to know. "What about boys? Did you leave a broken heart or two in Boston?"

"Mary." Steve nearly choked on the bite of sandwich in his mouth. "She's only fourteen."

"Exactly." Mary smirked, enjoying seeing Steve's reaction. It wasn't often that she got to see Steve this uncomfortable. "So how about it, Roni? Any special boy you were dating?"

"All of the boys I date are special." Roni replied, also finding Steve's reaction funny. The poor man was turning red and his mouth was hanging open.

"Young lady." Steve finally found his voice. "You are way too young to even think about dating."

"Some fourteen-year-olds are married." Mary said, enjoying herself. She nearly laughed when Steve's face went from red to very pale.

"Not my daughter!" Steve roared.

Roni laughed and said, "Relax, Dad." She shook her head in amusement. "I did not leave behind a boyfriend, I have never dated anyone."

"Good." Steve said, then he glared at his sister and his daughter. "Remember what they say about payback."

"What do they say, Uncle Steve?" Joanie asked. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she wanted in on the conversation.

"Nothing, Sweetpea." Steve said. "Eat your food."

The small family finished their lunch, talking and laughing. Roni really liked her new Aunt and cousin , and they really liked her.

As they were cleaning up after they ate, Steve said. "We're having a little get together in the morning. Lou is hosting a bar-b-que at his house, you can meet the rest of our ohona."

"It'll be fun." Mary said with a smile. "Everyone will be there."

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Later that evening, right after Mary and Joanie had left, Steve and Roni were once again alone.

"Have a seat." Steve said, as he sat on the sofa and motioned for Roni to sit beside him. "We need to talk about the rules and stuff."

"Yes Sir." Rioni said. sitting down beside him.

"First with the major rules." Steve said. "No swearing, no smoking, no stealing, no hustling pool, and no back talk."

"Okay." Roni said.

"Also you will have a curfew and a bedtime, curfew is nine on school nights and ten on weekends. Bedtime is ten on school nights and midnight on weekends . You will have household chores to do and will clean up after yourself."

"The cleaning and chores are no problem." Roni replied. "But a curfew and bedtime? Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously." Steve replied.

Roni sighed, but nodded. She didn't like the idea, but she was willing to go along with it. She was the kid after all, Steve was the Dad. The one who made the rules.

"You will receive thirty dollars a week for allowance." Steve continued.

"I don't need an allowance." Roni protested. "It's only right that I do chores and stuff, I don't need payment for doing what's right."

"Are you going to object to everything I say?" Steve sighed.

"No Sir."

"You sure?"

"Yes Sir."

"Good, then you will get an allowance."

"Yes Sir." Roni smiled. "And thank you."

"I reserve the right to add additional rules as time goes by." Steve said. "I'm new at this Dad stuff so I know I left things out. Now if you have any problems with the rules or think I am being to strict, speak up and let me know. I may not change my mind, but I might. You will never get into any trouble if come to me and discuss any problems politely and calmly."

"I understand." Roni said.

"If you break the rules, then you will be punished." Steve explained. "The punishment will be determined by what you did wrong, and if it is a first offense or if you had done it before. I promise you that the punishment will never be determined by how mad I am.

Punishment will vary depending on the transgression. You may lose a privilege like the tv or other electronics, you may be grounded or given extra chores. Or you may be spanked. Depending on the crime, you may be punished more than one way.

I promise to always listen to your side of things before I punish you, I will never just assume you are guilty."

"Sound fair." Roni agreed.

There was a knock on the front door, then the door burst opened and Grace and Charlie rushed in. Danny came in behind them at a more sedate pace.

"Uncle Steve!" Charlie shouted, jumping into the man's lap and hugging him.

"Hey, Buddy." Steve laughed, as he hugged him back. "What are you doing here?"

"We wanted to meet your daughter." The five-year-old boy said with a smile.

Steve picked the small boy up, then dropped him onto the sofa beside him.

"Charlie." He said. "Meet Roni."

"Hi there." Roni smiled at the little boy.

"Hi." Charlie smiled back.

"I'm Grace." The fifteen-year-old said. "Did you move into Uncle Steve's old room?"

"Yeah." Roni replied.

"Good, come on." She reached down and grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. "We have got a ton to talk about."

Before Roni could protest, Grace let go of one of her hands, and started pulling her towards the stairs with the other.

"Wait for me!" Charlie exclaimed, as he jumped up and chased after the teens.

After they heard Roni's bedroom door shut, Danny plopped down on the sofa beside Steve.

"I know you probably didn't want company this early, but Grace was bursting to come see Roni." Danny said.

"I'm glad you're here." Steve said. "Roni could use a friend closer to her own age, I really hope her and Gracie hit it off."

"I'm sure they will." Danny said.

"Danno!" Charlie exclaimed, as he rushed down the stairs and over to the sofa. "Gracie and Roni locked me out!"

Danny smirked at Steve and said. "See, told you they'd get along." Then he smiled at his son and said. "The girls just want some time alone to talk. You can stay down here with us and we'll have a men's only party."

"Okay." Charlie smiled he liked the sound of a men's only party.

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

 **TBC…..**

 **I will update as soon as I can. In the next chapter, Roni will meet the rest of her family. There will also be the spanking of teenagers by their Fathers in the next chapter. You have been warned.**

 **I again want to thank everyone for the kind reviews, please keep them coming. The short little conversation about boys were** for Leah Tatyana Nicole **who mentioned wanting Roni to be interested in boys. It was just a little part of the story, but I do plan on giving her a boyfriend later in the series.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I apologize for fibbing at the end of the last chapter. I stated that there would be spanking in this chapter, but there is not. That will be in the next chapter. I was going to add it to this one, but then I changed direction slightly and added more things to this chapter then I had planned.**

 **I will have the next chapter up sometime tomorrow or Monday, and it will contain the spanking of teens by their Dads. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Two hours later, Roni and Grace were still in Roni's room talking and laughing. The two girls hit it off right away and were already friends, despite their differences. Grace had spent a good fifteen minutes arguing that Roni needed more clothes, and Roni spent the time arguing that she didn't.

They also had different interests. Grace was into cheerleading, clothes, and makeup. Roni was into sports, and preferred the natural look rather then makeup. One thing they had in common was art. Grace was nowhere near as talented as Roni, but she still enjoyed art.

But even with the differences, they were enjoying each other's company. They were currently sitting on Roni's bed.

"You're going to have a lot of fun tomorrow." Grace said. "Uncle Lou's bar-b-ques are always loads of fun. And I know everyone can't wait to meet you."

"How many people will be there?" Roni asked, a little nervously.

"Only family." Grace replied. "I should warn you though, our family tree is full of nuts."

"Dad said the same thing." Roni smiled.

"Uncle Steve was right." Grace confirmed. "But all of the nuts are amazing people who will love you."

"How can you be so sure?" Roni wanted to know. "Sometimes I don't make a very good first expression."

"Just be yourself, Roni." Grace smiled. "You don't have to be anyone other than yourself, it'll be okay."

Roni nodded, but wasn't completely convinced.

"I'm serious, Roni." Grace said. "You are ohana now, and we have a large ohana." Then she glanced around the room. "So, any ideas on how you are going to decorate?"

"The room's fine the way it is." Roni said.

"Seriously?" Grace shook her head. "This room has no decorations at all. You need to turn this into your room."

Before Roni could replay, there was a knock on the bedroom door.

"Come in." Roni said.

The door opened and Danny poked his head in. "Time to go, Gracie." He said.

"Already?" The fifteen-year-old pouted slightly. "We were just getting started."

"You have a lifetime to get to know one another." Danny smiled.

Both girls stood up and followed him downstairs, where they saw Steve standing in the middle of the living room. A giggling Charlie was sitting on his foot with his arms wrapped around his leg, as Steve started to walk around.

"You know you've got something growing on your foot?" Danny asked.

"Yeah I know." Steve said as he lifted his leg up and shook it, causing Charlie to laugh harder. "Can't seem to get rid of, any suggestions?"

"Just kick real hard." Grace said. "Aim towards a brick wall."

"Don't put any ideas into his goofy head." Danny said, as he reached down and picked his son up. He was only joking, he knew Steve would never hurt his kids. "Time to go, Buddy." He told Charlie.

"Uncle Steve." Grace said. "Roni and I were discussing decorating her new room."

"The room's fine the way it is." Roni quickly said.

"No, Grace is right." Steve said. "It does need decorated, you need to put your own personality into it."

"You sure you don't mind?" Roni asked with a smile. She had never been able to decorate her own room before, she had never had her own room. When she was living with her Uncle, she usually slept on a cot in the corner of the main room, or on a mattress in the floor.

"Of course I don't mind, Sweetheart." Steve returned the smile. "It's your room now, you can decorate it however you want too."

"I'll help." Grace volunteered. Then she smiled brightly and grabbed Roni's arm in excitement. "I've got a great idea. We paint the walls white, well at least one of them. Then you can paint pictures on it yourself. That way, it will truly be your space. It will reflect who you are."

"That's a cool idea." Roni smiled. "I've always wanted to do something like that, you know, paint a huge mural or something."

"There's a small shop not far from here." Grace said. "Danno bought my desk there. The man who owns it, makes all the furniture. It's really good quality, and pretty reasonably priced."

"We'll check it out." Steve said. "One day next week."

"Come on, kids." Danny said. "Let's go."

Everyone said their goodbyes and the Williams family left.

 **Bluewaters99**

Later that night, Roni had just gotten out of the shower and was wearing her pajamas. Her and Steve were sitting on the sofa talking. They both had gone for a two mile run and had not been back home long.

"Before I discovered I had a beautiful and talented daughter." Steve said. "I made arrangements for two men to stay here during the Christmas and New Year's season. These men are real good friends and I trust them completely. But if you feel uncomfortable with them being here, then we can arrange something else. They can stay at Danny's or a hotel…."

"This is your house." Roni interrupted him. "It's none of my business who stays here."

"Correction." Steve said, as he gently cupped her chin in his hand and looked into her eyes. "This is our house. This is as much your house as it is mine, and it is your business what happens here."

"I appreciate that." Roni said, touched by what Steve said. "Who are these men?"

"First there's Joe White." Steve said. "Joe was my Dad's best friend when I was a kid, I called him Uncle Joe up until I joined the Naval academy. He's like a second Father to me. Then there is Nahele Huikala. Nahele is eighteen and is a freshman at collage. I met him when he was fifteen, and we've became very close."

"I trust you, Dad." Roni said. "I have never trusted anyone in my whole life. But I trust you. I trust that you would never let anyone near me who would hurt me. If you trust these men, then I know they are good men."

Steve smiled and leaned forward, then he wrapped his arms around her. He was thrilled that she trusted him, especially since just a couple days ago he thought that she might not ever trust him.

"You know something." Roni said, as she returned the hug. "I think I can get used to this hugging thing."

"My arms are always open, Roni." Steve assured her, kissing the top of her head. "Always."

They broke apart and Steve ruffled her hair.

"When will they be here?" Roni asked.

"Nahele should be here tomorrow, Joe will be here in a few days. They both plan on staying till after new years."

"I can't wait to meet them." Roni said sincerely. Since Grace's reassurances that the rest of Steve's family would like her, she was feeling better about the next day. She was actually excited to meet everyone else.

"I talked to Joe earlier, he can't wait to meet you also. I just told Nahele that I had someone special I wanted him to meet."

Father and Daughter talked for a few more minutes, then Roni went up to her room. She wanted to draw some before she went to bed.

The fourteen-year-old walked into her bedroom and sat on the bed, picking up the sketch pad and pencils her Dad had bought for her earlier that day. She had already drawn a few pictures, and had shown them to Steve. He was impressed by them and told her so. Grace was also impressed, they had talked a lot about art when she was over.

As she drew, Roni was thinking about her new life. She actually had a family that loved her, and a friend her own age. She was thinking that she was really going to love her new life, she was going to love being part of this ohana.

As she was thinking about how good her new life was, she drew absently mindedly. After a few minutes, she looked at the picture she had drew and gasped in surprise. It was a picture of her Mom.

Her Mom, who was currently handcuffed to a hospital bed and waiting to be transferred to a jail cell. Her Mom had betrayed her, had lied to her, had let people hurt her. But she was still her Mom.

Silent tears started running down her face, as she came to a realization. In her mind she was worse than her Mom ever was. She had betrayed her own Mom. She had put her own needs in front of those of her Mom's. Her Mom was sick and Roni was supposed to protect her, but she had failed.

The more she thought about her actions, the angrier she became with herself. As more tears fell, Roni stood up and ran to the dresser. She started pulling the drawers out and throwing them to the floor. Then she grabbed the dresser and slammed in to the floor with an enraged scream of frustration.

She didn't mean to lose her temper, she really didn't. This was not the first time she had one of these temper flare ups. It wasn't the first time she started throwing things without being able to stop herself. The episodes scared her, they made her think she was turning into her Uncle or her Mom. Or Coleman.

That thought terrified her, but she couldn't stop these rages once they got started. She just couldn't calm herself down. Usually they where ended by whichever adult that was there at the time knocking her on her ass.

The door burst opened and Steve rushed in.

Roni loved her Dad, she respected him. She would never hurt him intentionally. But she wasn't thinking straight, she was full of anger and hurt. She turned to him and started pounding on his chest with her fists. She couldn't stop herself, and she couldn't stop the tears.

"Easy, Sweetheart." Steve said, keeping his voice calm and soothing. "Easy."

He wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her to his chest and trapping her arms to her side. Steve saw the picture of Meagan laying in the floor and held his daughter tighter.

"You need to calm down, Roni." Steve said, his voice soothing. "We can work through this, but you need to calm down first."

Roni struggled to get free from the hug, even kicking Steve's legs and feet. But the man didn't loosen his grip, he continued to hold her and reassure her with calming words. After several moments, she stopped struggling. The rage was leaving, but not the feeling of betrayal and self pity.

Roni cried into his chest for several minutes, before finally stopping. She muttered something, but his chest muffled the sound. Steve released his hold on her and held her at arms length, looking into her teary eyes.

"What did you say, Sweetheart?" He asked, as he fought back his own tears. It tore him up inside to see his daughter hurting so much.

"I'm sorry." She said, hanging her head.

Steve gently cupped her chin with his hand and lifted her head up. "It's okay, Roni. I could tell that you weren't really in control there. I'm not upset with you."

"I hit you." She said, slightly confused. She knew that her Dad would never react as abusive as the other adults in her life had. But she figured he would still be mad at her.

"I know, and it did hurt." He smirked and said. "You are pretty strong for a little peep squeak." He wasn't joking either, his chest and legs were very sore.

The smirk was replaced with a concerned look. "But I know you did not do it on purpose."

"It doesn't happen often." Roni said. "Last time was a few months ago. I mean, I get mad a lot and lose my temper a lot. But every once in a while, I just lose control. I just start throwing things and hitting things and people. I try to stop, but I can't." A few more tears started running down her cheeks.

Steve once again wrapped his daughter in a tight hug, one that she returned quickly. Steve released her after several moments and lead her over to the bed. They both sat down and faced each other, Steve holding both her hands in his larger ones.

"What started this?" He asked, nodding towards the overthrown dresser and clothes scattered around the room.

"I just started thinking about what a horrible daughter I am to Mom." Roni admitted. She had never been open with her feelings, not until she had meet Jerry. Now she was finding it easy to talk to her Dad about her feeling also.

"How can you say that?" Steve asked, confused. "Roni, you have protected your Mom for several years now. You even confessed to a murder you didn't commit in order to protect her."

"I'm sitting here." Roni said. "With a Dad who loves me. I'm sitting in my own room, a room that I get to decorate. I have a new friend who loves art too, a friend that wants to hang out with me and introduce me to her other friends. I have so much, I have an actual life here. And Mom is sitting alone in a barren hospital room cuffed to a bed. And in another couple of days, she will be sitting on a jail cot."

"Your Mom made her own decisions." Steve said. "She will have to pay for those decisions. You are not responsible for her actions, and you should not have to suffer because of her actions. Roni, you have nothing to feel guilty about."

"My Mom needed me." Roni said. "And I let her down."

"You needed her. You are the kid, she was the Mother." Steve said, raising his voice slightly. He didn't mean to, but he was frustrated. He was trying to get her to realize that none of what happened to her Mom was her fault.

"Mom's sick." Roni defended her. "She didn't…."

"She's not sick." Steve said. "She's an addict, stop defending her.." He instantly regretted his choice of words when he saw the hurt look in her eyes.

Roni pulled her hands from his and stood up, glaring at him. "I'm sorry if Mom doesn't measure up to your high expatiations."

"Roni, I'm…." Steve started, but stopped when his daughter turned and stormed from the room. Slamming the door behind her.

Steve sighed and ran a tired hand over his face. Then he jumped from the bed and ran from the room and downstairs when he heard the front door opening and slamming shut. He was afraid she was running again.

Steve made it downstairs, then stopped and sighed in relief when he saw Roni standing in front of the closed front door. She was glaring at him, and her eyes were watery. But she was safe.

"I was going to leave." Roni said. "But then I remembered the promise I made to you. That I wouldn't run any more."

"Thank you for keeping that promise." Steve said, walking over to her. "I am sorry about what I said. I meant it, but I shouldn't have said it."

"I know Mom's not the June Cleaver type." Roni said. "But she's my Mom."

"I know." Steve said. "You and I have a lot in common, including absent Moms." Steve gently took her hand and led her over to the couch, sitting down and gently pulling her down to sit beside him.

Steve took a deep breath; he wasn't going to tell her any of this. But she had a right to know, maybe it would help her.

"I'm going to tell you something, something that you are not to tell anyone." Steve said.

"Ok." Roni said.

"My Mom, your Grandmother, works for the CIA."

"She's a spook?" Roni asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah." Steve said. "But I have only known that for the past few years. When I was fifteen, I was told that Mom died in a car accident. Dad sent Mary and me away, but didn't tell us why. I was sent to the Naval Academy and Mary was sent to live with Aunt Deb.

I was angry and confused, Dad didn't give us a reason. He just sent us away. I spent several years mad at him, refusing to accept his calls or letters. And refusing to accept Mary's or Aunt Deb's.

I was afraid that if I talked to Mare, I would remember the anger I felt towards my Dad. When I was nineteen and Mary was fourteen, Aunt Deb called and told my CO that it was a family crisis. So I accepted the call.

Aunt Deb said that Mary had started dating an older boy with a criminal record and that she went missing. So I rushed the ninety miles to her house, scared to death. When I got there I burst into the house, scaring Aunt Deb, and my sister. Mary was safe, sitting there watching tv.

Before I could say anything, Aunt Deb told me that it was the only way to get me there. I was beyond pissed. I started yelling at her and called her something that I instantly regretted. I had no right to be so rude and disrespectful to her.

And Mary had every right to walk over to me and slap me hard across my face. And she had every right to tell me that if I ever spoke to her Aunt Deb like that again, she would kick me in the balls.

I settled down after that and the three of us sat down and talked, and I realized that Aunt Deb did what she had to too get me to listen to reason."

Then he winced and added. "And Aunt Deb told me that if I ever spoke to her like that again she would wash my mouth out with soap and take a wooden spoon to my bare butt. And I knew from prior experience that Aunt Deb could swing a wicked wooden spoon.

After that I reconnected with Dad too, but I didn't go back home till seven years ago when Dad was murdered. While investigating his death, I learned that Dad thought Mom's car accident was actually a car bombing. That's why he sent Mary and me away, he was trying to protect us.

Then I found out that Mom was really still alive and that she worked for the CIA. She faked her death. I felt betrayed and hurt. She was my Mom, she was supposed to have stayed and been a Mom. She was supposed to be there for me, and she wasn't. I loved my Mom and I felt that she had broken my heart.

We made back up, we have a pretty good relationship now. She drops by every once in a while. Forgiving her was easy, but trusting her again was a whole different story. That took time."

They sat in silence for a few moments, then Steve said. "I know your Mom hurt you, and I know you feel betrayed and angry. Those feelings are natural. And so is feeling guilty. I felt guilty when Dad sent us away, thinking it was my fault. But it wasn't my fault. And this is not your fault.

Your Mom made her own choices, you are not responsible for what happens to her. But I do understand your feelings. And I have an idea on how to help your Mom. I have a friend who is a full time barber and a part time lawyer. He is very good at both. I will talk to him, see if he will take your Mom's case.

He will not be able to get her off without being punished for her crimes, not even Perry Mason can do that. But maybe he can convince the judge to let her serve out her sentence in a mental hospital where she can get help, and not in a prison cell."

"Thank you." Roni said. "And thank you for understanding. I'm sorry I stormed out on you upstairs."

"It's okay." Steve assured her.

"Do you really think your friend can help?" Roni wanted to know.

"I'm not sure." Steve admitted. "But I am sure that he will try his best."

"Thank you." Roni said again. "I'm really getting tired, I think I'll go on to bed."

"Okay, see you in the morning." Steve said, leaning forward and kissing her forehead. "I love you, Sweetheart."

"I love you too, Dad." Roni said with a small smile. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Nahele climbed out of a cab in front of Steve's and paid the cabbie. Then he grabbed his duffle bag and walked towards the house. It was just after three in the morning, so he knew Steve was still asleep. The man was always awake too early in the morning, but not this early.

The eighteen-year-old tried the front door, but it was locked. He pulled out his key, the key Steve had given to him a long time ago. He opened the door, then quickly punched in the security code on the alarm box just inside the door.

He shut the front door and looked around, but didn't see or hear Steve. The man's truck was outside, so he had to be here. Unless Danny had picked him up for a case. The young man sat his bag in the floor and headed towards the kitchen, he was starving.

He quickly fixed himself a sandwich and grabbed a soda out of the fridge. Then he headed upstairs to Steve's old room, being quite in case Steve was indeed still asleep.

Nahele walked up the stairs while eating, stopping in front of Steve's door. It was open and there was a lump in the bed, Steve was still asleep. The young man continued on to Steve's old room, which was where he usually slept when he stayed over.

By the time he walked into the darkened room, the sandwich was gone. Nahele sat the soda on the dresser and kicked off his shoes and pulled his pants off. Then he pulled off his shirt, leaving him in only his boxer shorts. His plan was to catch a few hours sleep. He walked over to the bed and was about to pull the cover back, when he realized someone was already in the bed.

Roni had woken up when she heard something, she looked up and saw a silhouette in the darkness. The silhouette was too small to be Steve's. She quickly sat up and turned on the lamp on the night stand.

There was a man in his underwear standing by her bed. Years of training kicked in, and she reacted. The young teen jumped up and out of bed. She kicked the young man hard on the shin, then when he bent over to grab the injured limb, she spun around and kicked him in the side of his head. The man fell to the floor with a pained grunt and she jumped over him and ran out the door.

"Dad!" she screamed, running down the hall.

Steve ran into the hall and she ran over to him.

"There's a man in my room, he was almost naked and trying to get into bed with me." Roni said, her voice slightly shaky.

"Stay here." Steve ordered, as he quickly went to the girl's room and flipped on the lights. He was ready to do some serious damage to whoever dared to try to hurt his little girl. But the sight that greeted him made the man pause for a moment.

Nahele was sitting in the floor, rubbing his left shin with one hand and his right eye with the other.

"You okay?" Steve asked not able to keep the humor from his voice.

"Who the hell was that?" Nahele asked.

"Roni!" Steve called out. "It's okay, Honey. Come on in."

Steve walked over and offered the younger man a hand, then pulled him to his feet.

"Dad?" Roni questioned in a confused voice.

"Dad?" Nahele asked in an even more confused voice. "I thought I was the one who got kicked in the head."

"Roni, meet Nahele." Steve said. "Nahele, meet Roni. She's my daughter."

"If he's your friend." Roni said. "Why was he about to climb into bed with me?" Roni wanted to know. "And why is only wearing his boxers?"

Nahele, who had forgotten he was only wearing his shorts in front of the teen, quickly grabbed his jeans off of the floor and pulled them on.

"Nahele didn't know you were here." Steve explained to his daughter what must have happened. "He normally sleeps in here when he stays over. "

"I didn't mean to scare you." Nahele said. he was the one who got hurt, but he still felt bad about scaring the girl.

"I'm sorry I hurt you." Roni said.

"No shoots, little sister." Nahele smiled. "A strange dude tries to climb in bed with you, you hurt him and get away. You did the right thing."

Steve gently cupped Nahele's chin in his hand and tilted the teen's head sideways slightly. "You are going to have a shiner."

"Yeah, your kid kicks like a mule." Nahele replied. "By the way, when did you get a daughter?"

"Fourteen years ago." Steve answered, tossing an arm across the girl's shoulders. "But I just found out I had a daughter three days ago."

"It's nice to meet you." Nahele smiled.

"It's nice to meet to you too." Roni returned the smile.

"Okay, everyone back to bed. You two can acquainted in a few hours, we have a busy day ahead of us."

"I'll sleep in the room downstairs." Nahele said. Then he gently rubbed his right eye and said, "I don't want another black eye."

 _ **Tbc…..**_


	12. Chapter 12

**I am so sorry about the delay, life has been hectic. I promise to try to update quicker. I hope it was worth the wait.**

 **WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPANKING OF TEENAGE GIRLS BY THEIR FATHERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

When Steve woke up again, bright sunlight was shining through his window. He glanced at the alarm clock on the night stand and saw that it was seven o'clock. He got out of bed, dressed, then quietly walked to Roni's room. The door was open and the young girl was sitting in the middle of her bed drawing.

"Morning sweetheart." Steve smiled.

"Good morning, Dad." Roni returned the smile.

Steve walked into the room and sat on the bed beside her. "May I see it?" He nodded towards the sketch book.

Without hesitation, the young girl handed him the drawings. She loved showing him her drawings now, he was always so supportive.

Steve looked the drawing, which appeared to be complete and smiled. It was Steve standing in a field of wildflowers.

"I've never looked so good before." Steve said. "It is very nice, you did a wonderful job."

"Thanks." Roni said.

"How long have you been up?" Steve wanted to know. She was already dressed in cotton shorts, a tee shirt, and her running shoes.

"About half an hour." She replied. "I was hoping you would go on a run with me."

"I would love too." Steve said. "Come on."

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Nahele woke up at a little after eight and walked into the living room. He found a note from Steve saying that him and Roni were out running. The young man went into the kitchen and started cooking breakfast.

He still couldn't get over the shock of Steve having a kid. After Roni had went back to bed, Steve had told Nahele some about her. He told him that she was raised by an abusive uncle and that her Mom had been using her. He told him what her Mom had said when the young girl was in the air vent.

Nahele's heart went out to the girl, he felt sorrow for what she had had to endure. But he was also happy for her, because now she had Steve. And the young man knew from experience that Steve was an excellent man to have in your corner.

He heard the front door open and after a couple minutes, Steve and Roni walked into the kitchen. They were both drenched in sweat and looked tired. But they were smiling.

"Morning, Nahele." Steve greeted him then, smirked and added. "Nice shiner."

"I really am sorry about that." Roni said, feeling bad.

"I already told you, Little Sister." Nahele smiled, as he stirred something on the stove. "You did nothing wrong, it was just one of those things. I am impressed with your abilities. But in my own defense, you caught me but surprise."

"You caught her by surprise also." Steve said. "And she was still able to kick your butt."

"Behave Dad." Roni said, slapping him on the arm. "Be nice to Nahele."

"Yeah, Steve." The younger man pouted. "Be nice to me. I made breakfast and everything." Then he turned to Roni and said. "Hope you like omelets."

"They smell wonderful." The girl said. "Thank you for cooking."

"It was totally in self preservation." Nahele said. "I've tasted Steve's cooking before."

"I'll remember that the next time you're wolfing down the food I cook." Steve said.

"Hey, I'm a growing boy." Nahele said. "I have to eat, even if it is your cooking."

Steve cuffed him lightly in the back of his head and said. "Don't burn my omelet. I'm going to go shower."

"Me too." Roni said, "I probably smell pretty ripe."

"Yeah, you do." Steve said, then quickly rushed from the room when Roni tried to slap his arm again.

Nahele laughed as Roni chased after her Dad. Then he returned his attention back to his cooking. He thought that the two were going to be good for each other.

By the time Steve returned to the kitchen, Nahele had breakfast ready. Omelets, toast, fruit, and coffee.

"Maholo." Steve said, as he took the mug of coffee the younger man handed him.

"She seems like a great kid." Nahele said.

"She is." Steve smiled. "Roni is amazing."

Before Nahele could reply, Roni walked into the kitchen.

The three sat down and started eating.

"Hey, Nahele." Steve said with a smirk. "Roni wants me to teach her some more martial art moves, we could use a practice dummy. Interested?"

"No thank you." The younger man said.

"Dad, leave him alone." Roni admonished.

"Not a chance." Steve smiled.

"He's a big bully." Nahele told Roni.

"I can see that." Roni agreed.

"I am not a bully." Steve disagreed.

"Two Against one says you are, Bruh." Nahele said.

"Yeah, majority rules." Roni said.

"This is not a democracy." Steve informed them. "Just like I told the members of Five 0, this is a benevolent dictatorship."

"I say we overthrow the dictator." Nahele said.

"Yeah." Roni agreed. "Right off of the roof."

Steve got a look of mock horror on his face and held his hands up in defeat. "You win, it's a democracy."

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

It was nearly ten when Steve parked his truck in front of the Grover house. Several cars were already parked in the drive.

"Grace is already here." Roni smiled. She really liked the other girl and thought they would be great friends.

"Come on." Steve said, opening the truck door. "There's some people who would love to meet you."

Steve, Nahele, and Roni climbed out of the truck and walked around back of the house where everyone was gathered.

"You're here." Grace called out excitedly as she rushed over. She hugged Roni, who hugged her back. Then she hugged Steve, then Nahele.

"Roni." Grace said, motioning to the other two teens standing beside her. "These are Uncle Lou's and Aunt Rene's kids. This is Samantha and Will."

"It's nice to meet you." Samantha smiled.

"Nice to meet you too." Roni returned the greeting.

"Will and I are going to kidnap you after the bar-b-que." Grace informed the younger girl. "We're going to video arcade to meet up with some friends, we want you to go with us."

"Your friends might not want a tag along." Roni said.

"They know you're coming." Will assured her. "Rick called about twenty minutes ago to invite Grace and me, I told him we were bringing a friend and he's all for it. The more the merrier."

"Can I go?" Roni asked Steve.

"I don't know." Steve said, pretending to be giving it deep thought.

"Dad." Roni pouted.

"Sure, Sweetheart." Steve said.

"Thanks." Roni smiled.

"Roni! Uncle Steve! Nahele!" Joanie shouted, as her and Charlie walked out of the Grover house and saw them. "You're here!"

She ran over to them, with Charlie right behind her. Both five-year-olds jumped into Steve's waiting arms. He picked them up and hugged them, then sat them back on their feet.

"Where's your Mom?" Steve asked Joanie, he hadn't seen her car.

"She had to show a house." The little girl replied. "Uncle Danny picked me up and brought me here."

Steve had to smile at that, he was very proud of his little sister. She had taken and passed her realtor's exams a little over a year before, and was doing extremely well in her career. She enjoyed her job and was making good money.

"Mary will be here in a few minutes." Danny said, as him and the adult Grovers walked over.

"Roni." Lou said. "This is my beautiful wife Rene."

"It's nice to meet you Ma'am." Roni said.

"The pleasure is all mine, Honey." Rene smiled at the girl. "I have heard a lot about you."

"And you still invited me to your house?" Roni asked.

"All of the things I've heard have been good." Rene laughed. "And you are always welcomed here, always."

Jerry, Kamakono, and Flippa walked over to the group then. Jerry hugged Roni and said. "Hey, Kiddo."

"Hey there little sister." Kamakono greeted. "No hard feelings?"

"No hard feelings." Roni replied.

"Good, welcome to our ohana. This is my cousin, Flippa."

"Hey there, little sister." The man said, engulfing the girl into a tight hug.

"Nahele." Charlie said, looking at the man. "Why are you wearing sunglasses?"

It was a sunny day, but the little boy knew that Nahele didn't usually wear sunglasses.

Before Nahele could answer, Chin, Abby, Sara, Kono, and Adam waked around the house and joined them.

"Aloha." Kono greeted. She smiled at Roni and said. "Roni, this is my husband Adam."

"It it a pleasure to meet you, Roni." Adam said. "Kono was right, you do resemble your Father a great deal." Then he winked at her and added. "But you are a whole lot prettier."

"And this is my wife, Abby." Chin said. "And my niece, Sara."

"It's nice to meet you all." Roni said.

"You're gonna like living with Uncle Steve." Sara said. "He's a lot of fun. He plays tea parties and everything."

"Really." Roni smiled at the little girl, sounding impressed. "Do you think he'll play tea party with me?"

"Sure he will." Sara said, nodding her small head.

"He'll even wear one of those big floppy hats." Nahele said. "With a flower in it."

"Hey Nahele." Steve said. "Charlie asked you about those shades, why don't you explain why you're wearing them?"

"I told you to leave him alone, you big bully." Roni said, slapping his arm.

"What happened?" Danny asked, as he reached out and removed the glasses from the younger man's face. Reviling his black eye.

"What happened to you?" Lou asked.

"Roni kicked his butt." Steve laughed.

"Actually, she kicked my face." Nahele admitted.

"Why did you hurt Nahele?" Five-year-old Joanie asked with wide eyes.

"I didn't mean too." Roni said, glaring at her Dad who was snickering. "Well I meant to, but I didn't know who he was."

"But you're not 'sposed to hurt anyone." Six-year-old Sara said. She was confused as to why Uncle Steve was laughing. Hurting someone wasn't funny. Joanie and Charlie were confused too.

"I'll explain it." Steve said, kneeling in front of the three little kids.

"This ought to be interesting." Chin said.

"Joanie, what did I tell you to do if some strange man tries to grab you?" Steve asked.

"Kick him in the boy part and run to get an adult I trust." The little girl said.

"Good girl." Steve praised her. "Nahele didn't know anything about Roni and Roni did not know that Nahele was at the house. He scared her, she thought he was going to hurt her.

Roni defended herself, then ran and got me. She did the right thing, she thought she was in danger."

"Yeah." Nahele said. "She had every right to hit me, she really thought I was a bad guy."

"Nahele would never hurt you." Joanie told her Cousin. "He's a really good person."

"I know that now, Joanie." Roni said.

"When I got to the bedroom." Steve laughed. "Nahele was sitting in the floor, dazed and confused."

"Will you behave, Dad?" Roni asked. Then she looked at the younger kids. "I keep telling him to leave Nahele alone, but he won't listen to me."

"Uncle Steve never listens to anyone." Charlie told the teen. "Except Uncle Joe and Aunt Deb."

"Joe will think it's funny too." Nahele said. then he smiled and "I'm telling Aunt Deb on him."

 _ **Bluewaters99**_

Half an hour later, Roni was having a great time. Her, Grace, Samantha, and Will were sitting on the ground under a tree talking and laughing. Sara, Charlie, and Joanie were running around chasing each other. And the adults were standing around talking.

Max and Sabrina had shown up a few minutes after she arrived. Then Eric showed up. All three adults seemed really nice and had acted like they enjoyed meeting her. Mary had shown up a few minutes prior.

"I can't believe you gave Nahele a black eye." Grace laughed. "He's tough guy, you must be a pretty good fighter."

"Uncle Philip trained me to fight first and think second." Roni said.

"Is he the one who raised you?" Grace asked.

"Danny didn't tell you about my past?" Roni wanted to know.

"No." Grace replied. "He just said that you had a tough life, he said that if I wanted to know more I should ask you. And you'd tell me if you wanted me to know."

"Yeah, Dad told Will and me the same thing." Samantha said.

"I was raised by Uncle Philip." Roni said, deciding to trust them with the truth and hoped that they didn't run away from her after they knew. "He trained me to fight, to be a soldier. Mom is a drug addict, has been since before I was born. She was in and out of my life throughout the years.

Uncle Philip was very strict, and he took my training seriously. Mom killed him seven months ago, because he was going to tell Dad that I existed. All my life, I had been told that my Father was an evil monster who knew about me but wanted nothing to do with me.

There were times when I thought about running away and finding him, just in case Mom was wrong about him. I thought that even if he was mean, he might not be as abusive as the other adults in my life. But I was always too scared to.

I only very recently found out the truth. I found out that Dad didn't know about me, and that Uncle Philip was using me in his vendetta against the US government. And I learned that my Mom never cared about me."

Roni took a deep breath and waited for their responses. She was a little surprised, but very happy, when Grace wrapped her in a sideways hug and said. "No one is going to hurt you anymore."

"Yeah." Samantha agreed, hugging her from the other side. "We've got your back, and we take the protection of our family extremely seriously."

"Anyone wants to hurt you." Will said. "They'll have to go through us."

"I appreciate that." Roni said. "I was a little afraid that you might run after finding out the truth."

"Family don't run." Grace assured her.

"Yeah." Will agreed. "Families stick together, no matter what."

The four teens continued talking and joking around, enjoying each other's company.

"Where you going to the arcade too?" Roni asked Samantha.

"No way." Samantha said. "I am a senior, I am way too cool to hang around a bunch of lowly Sophomores."

"Actually." Will said. "Seniors are not welcomed to hang with us due to their lack of ability to have fun."

Before Samantha could respond, they heard Lou calling everyone to come eat.

"Come on, guys." Will said. then he looked at Roni and said, "Dad is an awesome bar-b-que cook. He can't boil an egg without burning the pan on a stove though."

"Pan nothing." Samantha said. "I consider it a major win if the stove itself survives Dad's cooking."

The four teens were laughing when they joined the group gathered around a large picnic table.

"What's so funny?" Rene asked the teens.

"Samantha and I were just telling Roni that Dad's bar-b-que is the best." Will replied.

"Thank you Son." Lou smiled at Will.

"And about the fact that he can't cook inside the house without the fire department being called." Will smiled.

"That's just cold." Lou shook his head.

"But true." Rene responded.

"Is this pick on Lou day?" Lou asked.

"Yes." Everyone, including the small kids, exclaimed.

 **Bluewaters99**

Roni, Grace, and Will had a lot of fun with the other teens at the arcade. They stayed there for three hours, then Danny picked all three up. He dropped Will off at his house, he took the girls home with him. Roni was going to spend the night with Grace.

They had been in Grace's room for over an hour when they heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." Grace called out.

The door opened and Danny walked in.

"Steve called, we caught a case. It shouldn't take too long." Danny said. "I'm dropping Charlie off at Mary's so he can play with Joan."

"Okay, Danno." Grace said.

"You know the rules, Grace." Danny said. then he looked at Roni. "I will not be back till late. You are to be inside the house before dark and stay inside the house. The doors are to remain locked at all times."

"Danno, we are fifteen and fourteen." Grace rolled her eyes. "Not five."

"I know how old you are, Grace." Danny said sternly. "Which is why I set the rules that I did."

They heard the sound of a familiar truck outside.

"That's Steve." Danny said. "He's leaving his truck here and riding with me. Well, actually he's driving me. The control freak."

The girls followed Danny into the living room and said their goodbyes, then returned to Grace's room once the men and little boy left.

"I can not wait till next year." Grace said, as they sat on her bed.

"What's next year?" Roni wanted to know.

"I'll be sixteen, I can get my drivers licenses and learn how to drive. That will be so cool, knowing how to drive."

"I already know how to drive." Roni said.

"Really?"

"Sure, learned how when I was about ten."

"That is soo cool." Grace said, then she smiled and said. "Teach me."

"Excuse me?"

"Let's take Uncle Steve's truck and you teach me how to drive it." Grace said.

"Are you nuts?" Roni asked, surprised by the request.

"Come on, please." Grace said. "It will be so much fun."

Roni thought about it for a moment, then smiled. it would be fun, it had been a while since she drove. And her Dad and Danny would be out till late. No one would know.

"Alright, let's do this."

"Yeah!"

The two teens grabbed Steve's truck keys, which he had left there, and went outside. Grace slid in behind the wheel and Roni climbed into the passenger seat. She explained to the older girl how everything worked, then coached her how to get the truck onto the road.

Grace was a fast learner and was soon driving without coaching. Both teens were having a blast and had the radio on full blast. After about half an hour, a dog ran into the road, scaring Grace. She jerked the wheel to the left hard, trying to avoid the dog. But the action caused her to head straight for a ditch.

Roni reacted quickly and reached over and grabbed the wheel, returning the truck to the road and away from the ditch. Both girls moaned when they saw a pair of blue lights behind them.

"Damnit." Roni muttered. "Pull over, and let me do the talking. Maybe I can talk our way out of this."

Grace nodded and pulled over to the side of the road. Then she groaned when she saw the officer approaching the truck.

"Whatever you do." The fifteen-year-old said. "Do not try to talk your way out of this,, it will end badly. Very badly."

Roni glanced into the review mirror and saw the officer approaching. "That's a friend of Dad's." she said. "He introduced us yesterday."

"Yeah." Grace said, defeat evident in her voice. "Sgt. Duke Lukela is a very close friend of Uncle Steve's and Dad's. He's not giving us a pass on this."

"Damnit." Roni muttered again.

"And don't curse around him, he will tell Uncle Steve." Grace cautioned.

Grace rolled down her window as Duke approached.

"Grace." He said. "Roni. You girl's okay? That was a pretty nasty swerve back there. Did you two get hurt?"

"No Sir." Both girls answered.

"Neither of you hit your heads? Or get hurt by the seatbelts?"

"No Sir." They both repeated.

"Grace, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you are only fifteen." Duke said, giving both teens a stern look. His voice was calm but scolding.

"Yes Sir." Grace almost whispered.

"So you do not have your licenses?"

"No Sir."

"Where are Steve and Danny?" Duke asked.

"I guess at the palace." Grace said. "They caught a case."

"Slide over, I will be back after I speak with my partner." Duke said. "I will drive you to the Palace and you can explain to your Fathers' what happened." Then he walked away to speak to the other officer.

Both girl moaned, but neither argued.

"We are so dead." Grace said, as she slid over to the middle of the seat. "Danno and Uncle Steve are going to flip."

Before Roni could respond, Duke was back. Duke slid behind the wheel and turned the truck around, heading towards the Palace.

 **Bluewaters99**

"Okay boys and girl." Steve said. "That's it, let's go home."

The case had been a lot simpler than expected, thanks to the suspect committing the murder in front of an ATM. The ATM's camera caught the whole crime on film.

"That can't be good." Danny said, as Duke and the girls walked into the room. Duke had a serious look on his face and both girls were looking at the floor.

"What happened?" Steve asked.

"The girls have been very busy breaking the law." Duke replied. "Isn't that correct girls?"

Neither girl responded, just kept looking at the floor.

"Grace Ann Williams." Danny said sternly, as he walked over and stood in front of his daughter. "Explain. And look at me, not the floor."

Grace looked up, then wished she hadn't. Danno looked really mad, and she knew he was going to become madder when he heard what they had done.

Steve walked over and stood in front of Roni. He cleared his throat and the young teenager looked up, gulping slightly when she saw the look at her Dad's face.

"I was just doing what you wanted." Roni said, quickly. She knew she should have stayed quiet, but sometimes her mouth worked faster than her brain. "You said you wanted me to become a normal teenager, and what's more normal then getting into trouble with your friend. So you see, this is actually your fault, not ours. And there's a dog that's really at fault here too, but Sgt. Lukela didn't even try to do his job and find the mutt to give him a ticket."

Grace looked at the younger girl in shock. She couldn't believe she was giving Uncle Steve lip when she was already in trouble. She wasn't sure if she was brave, or just plain dumb. But she was leaning towards the second one.

Steve's glare darkened, as he reached out and grabbed his daughter's arm. He turned her sideways and landed five hard swats to her jean clad butt. The last swat caused the girl to yelp. Then he turned her back around and cupped her chin in his hand.

Looking into her eyes he said. "Young lady, you had better watch that attitude of yours. It will only land you in more trouble then you are already in. I don't know what all of this is about, but I do know that Sgt. Lukela does not deserve that type of snide comment. You owe him an apology."

He released her chin, and the young girl turned towards Duke. She did feel bad about what she said, the man seemed like a good guy. He didn't deserve her comment.

"I am sorry, Sir." She said, looking into his eyes. Her voice was soft and the man could tell that she meant what she was saying. "You did not deserve that, and I had no right saying it. I owe you a huge thank you for not giving Grace and I a ticket or charging us with anything. Thank you."

"You are welcomed." Duke said, his voice soft. "And I accept your apology."

"Hold on a minute." Danny said. "I heard the word ticket mentioned twice." He glared at his daughter. "Explain."

"I…it was my fault, I talked Roni into teaching me how to drive Uncle Steve's truck."

"You what!?" Danny and Steve both bellowed, causing both girls to jump. Grace more so then Roni.

"We took Uncle Steve's truck and Roni was teaching me how to drive." Grace said, her voice shaky slightly. "A dog ran out in front of us and I freaked out and swerved. I almost hit a ditch, but Roni grabbed the wheel and got it back on the road. Sgt. Lukela saw us and pulled us over. Then he drove us here."

Danny and Steve were silent for a moment, both shocked at what they had heard. The shock quickly switched over to anger. Danny was the first one to find his voice.

"You are fifteen!" Danny hissed. "And you got behind the wheel of a truck with a fourteen-year-old instructor!"

"Yes Sir." Grace whispered.

"Office. Corner." Danny ground out.

Grace quickly rushed into her Dad's office.

"You too." Steve said.

Roni too, rushed from the room.

"What were they thinking?" Danny asked no one in particular. "I mean, seriously. What were they thinking?"

"Maybe the same thing you were thinking when you were fifteen and borrowed your Dad's car and wrapped it around a light pole." Kono replied.

She took a step back a little when both Steve and Danny glared at her.

"Just saying, Bruh." She said, holding her hands up in surrender.

"I knew I never should have told you that." Danny grumbled.

"I seem to remember a certain thirteen-year-old borrowing a police cruiser and parking it in the ocean." Duke smirked.

"I remember that." Chin smiled at Steve. "Man you're Dad was pissed."

"I never knew I was working with ex-juvenile delinquents." Lou said, shaking his head.

"I'm sure you've pulled worst stunts." Danny replied.

"Nope." Lou smiled.

"So it was another Louis Marcus Grover who stole a tour bus when he was seventeen because he was dared too by a pretty girl?" Steve asked, wiping the smirk from Lou's face.

"You've been talking to my precious wife again, haven't you?" Lou asked.

"So Jerry and I are the only members of Five 0 that have not committed grand thief auto?" Kono asked. "Because I know for a fact that Chin stole Uncle's car when he was twelve so he could take a bunch of his friends on a joy ride."

"Actually, Cuz." Chin chuckled. "It's only you. Jerry here stole the principal's car when he was sixteen."

"I returned it, with a full tank of gas." Jerry defended himself. "And it was Chin who dared me too."

"I didn't think you would actually do it. " Chin said.

"I'm surrounded by criminals." Kono said.

 **Bluewaters99**

The ride to the William's home was made in complete silence. Danny was sitting ramrod straight, his hands gripping the steering wheel tight enough to turn his knuckles white.

He was furious with his daughter, and knew that it was best if he remained silent until he was calmer. Him and Steve had discussed their daughters actions together and discussed their punishments. They both felt that both girls should receive the same punishment for the same offence, and both men had agreed on the punishment.

Danny pulled to a stop in his driveway and killed the engine. "Go ahead and shower and change into your night clothes, then find a corner in your room and wait." He said, his voice still stern.

The girl did as she was told, and was in the corner twenty minutes later. She hated corner time, it made her feel like a little kid. Not a fifteen-year-old. But she knew that that was why her dad used the corner as a punishment.

She also understood why her Dad and Uncle Steve were so upset with them. She knew that what they did was dangerous. If Roni had not been fast enough in grabbing the wheel, they would have hit the ditch. And it was a very big ditch, they could have gotten seriously hurt.

After other fifteen minutes, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in, Danno." Grace said, sadly. She knew she was about to get spanked, and probably grounded. She was not looking forward to either.

She heard the door open and then close, and heard her Dad walk into the room and sat on the bed.

"Come here." Danny said.

Grace turned around and walked over to him, relieved to see that he looked calmer. But he still looked and sounded stern.

"Why?" Danny asked.

"I just thought it would be fun." Grace said, her voice soft. "I'm really sorry, I promise I will never do it again."

"I'm glad to hear that, Monkey." Danny responded. "But that does not get you out of your punishment."

"But Daddy, I'm too old to be spanked." Grace whined. She knew she did wrong, knew she deserved to be punished. But that didn't mean she wasn't going down without a fight.

"Oh really?" Danny asked with a raised eyebrow. "Grace, I am very disappointed in your behavior. You put yourself and Roni in danger, you broke the law, and you stole your Uncle's truck." His voice was stern, but calm.

"You, young lady, are not too old to be spanked. Nor are you too old to ground for one week. Any arguments and I will double the time and use a paddle on your butt. Understand?"

"Yes Sir." She said quickly. She had only been paddled once, six months ago when she had ditched school to go to a party. She never wanted paddled again, it stung a lot worse than her Dad's hand.

"For the next week, you are to go to school, then to the Palace as soon as school ends. Once there, you will do your homework, then you will be assigned a list of chores from Steve. Since it was his truck, I feel that he should also punish you."

"But Danno, what about the party on Friday?" Grace whined slightly.

Danny sighed and said, "You can still go to the Christmas party at your friend's house, I know you have been looking forward to it for a few weeks now. But that is the only exception to your grounding."

"Yes Sir, thank you." Grace said. Friday was the last day of school until after New Years and her friend Ashley was throwing a party.

"You will also be spanked right now, then go to bed." Danny added. "Let's get this over with."

Grace hesitated for a moment, then slowly took the last couple steps to stand in front of her Dad. He gently guided her over his lap, wrapping an arm securely around her waist.

"List them." Danny said, causing a soft moan from his daughter.

Grace hated this part, but knew there was no way around it. "I stole Uncle Steve's truck." She said. "I drove without a licenses. And I put myself and Roni in danger. I know that if she hadn't of grabbed the wheel when she did, I would have hit the ditch."

"Good girl." Danny praised. Then he raised his hand in the air and brought it down sharply on the thin cotton pajama clad bottom, causing Grace to yelp loudly. Danny hated spanking either of his kids, but he didn't hesitate to when they deserved it. Putting their lives in danger would always earn them a sore butt.

Danny kept slapping his hand down on the wiggling target, wincing himself when the swats elicited yelps and cries from Grace.

"Daddy, please." Grace cried, as Danny continued to spank her. "I'm s…sorry."

After a few moments, Danny started spanking Grace's soft under curve and the tops of her thighs. This turned her yelps and cries into sobbing. Soon, the teen lay over his lap, sobbing. Danny brought the spanking to an end with five harder slaps to her burning butt. Then he started to rub gentle circles in her back.

"It's over, Monkey." Danny said, as he gently helped her into a sitting position on his lap. Being careful of her burning bottom. "All's forgiven." He wrapped her into a tight hug.

Grace laid her head on Danny's shoulder and cried. The tears stopped after a few moments, and she sat up straight.

"I'm sorry, Danno." She sniffled.

"It's okay, Honey." Danny assured her. "I love you very much."

"I love you too." The girl said.

Danny held her for a couple more minutes, then helped her stand up. He stood up and hugged her, kissing the top of her head.

"Bed time." He said. "Good night, Monkey."

"Good night Danno." She said, returning the hug.

Danny released her, then pulled her covers back, the teenager laid down on her stomach and Danny covered her up. He leant over and kissed her cheek. "Sweet dreams Evil Kineival."

 **Bluewaters99**

Steve parked his truck in front of his house and killed the engine. Neither him or Roni had said a word since leaving the Palace.

Steve looked at his daughter and said. "You've really landed yourself in hot water this time."

"I know." Roni whispered, looking at her hands in her lap.

"Look at me, please." Steve said. his voice was calm, but still held authority.

Roni looked up and he gently carded his hand trough her short hair. "Even though you are in a lot of trouble and will not be sitting comfortable in a few minutes, I want you to know that that does not change the fact that you are my daughter and that I love you very much."

"I love you too." Roni smiled slightly.

"Go on inside and get ready for bed, after your spanking you will be going to bed."

"Yes Sir."

"After your shower, I want you in a corner."

"Yes Sir."

Roni went inside and saw Nahele sitting on the sofa. He looked at her and smiled. "Thought you are spending the night with Grace."

"Plans changed." Roni said, heading towards the stairs.

"You okay?" the older teen asked in concern.

"Yeah." Roni sighed. "Until Dad gets a hold of me, then I'm not so sure."

They heard the front door opening and Roni quickly ran up stairs.

"I know that look." Nahele frowned when he saw the serious look on Steve's face. "What happened?"

"Apparently Roni knows how to drive." Steve said, sinking into a chair. "She decided to teach Grace how to drive, in my truck."

"Any damage?" The eighteen-year-old asked.

"No." Steve replied. "Thanks to Roni's reflexes. A dog caused Grace to swerve and almost hit a ditch, but Roni grabbed the wheel and got it back on the road."

"You know, Steve." Nahele said, trying to think of a way to keep his little sister from feeling Steve's very hard hand across her butt. He doubted it working, but he had to try. "You've told me before that I was like a son to you."

"You are." Steve replied, wondering where the younger man was going.

"Well, a Father should not play favoritism." Nahele said. "When I stole your car and drove it without a license, I was only given a stern warning. If you punish Roni when you didn't punish me, it wouldn't be right."

"You are absolutely right, Nahele." Steve said, confusing the teen. Surely it wasn't that easy.

"I am?" He asked.

"Yes you are, that would be considered favoritism. So come on and let's get this over with."

"Get what over with?" Asked a confused Nahele.

"Your spanking." Steve replied. "I'm feeling generous, so you can keep your boxers on. But the jeans come down. Now over my lap."

"So not funny." Nahele said, nervously. He was pretty sure Steve was joking, but not a hundred percent sure. It had been over a year since he had been spanked last.

Steve had to smile at the nervous look Nahele had on his face. "I appreciate you looking out for your little sister." He said.

 **Bluewaters99**

A few minutes later, Roni was standing in the corner when she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in." She said.

She heard her Dad enter the room and sit on her bed.

"Come here, Roni." He said. "Have a seat."

Roni turned around and walked over to the bed, sitting beside her Dad.

"You realize how dangerous what you did was?" He asked.

"Yes Sir." Roni replied. "I am a great driver, but Grace had never drove before. And she should be taught by someone older. After I should her the basics, I kinda quit paying attention."

"You are grounded for one week." Steve said. "In the morning, we have an appointment at the school to have you tested to see which grade you will be placed in. since there is only one week left of school before the Christmas break, you will not start till after the New Year.

After the meeting tomorrow, you will accompany me to the Palace. You will do school work during normal school hours, then you and Grace will be given a list of chores to do around the Palace.

During the week, there will be no electronics at all. And you will only have two hours a day to draw."

He felt like someone punched him in the gut when he saw Roni's heartbroken expression at that news.

"Sweetheart, I know art is very important to you. But I also know that you can sat and draw for hours and the time will fly by, you wouldn't even realize that you were being punished. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir." Roni understood, but she still hated it.

"You also earned yourself a spanking." Steve said.

"Yes Sir." She said, standing up and facing him.

Steve gave her a small smile for her cooperation, then helped her across his lap. He wrapped an arm around her waist, then started the spanking. Roni took the first several swats in silence, but soon the burning was intense and she started crying softly.

Steve shifted her slightly and started slapping her under curve and the tops of her thighs, causing the cries to increase. The young teen was soon sobbing.

Steve stopped the spanking, and gently helped her into a sitting position in his lap.

"It's okay, Sweetheart." He said as he gently rubbed circles in her back and kissed the top of her head. "It's over."

The tears stopped quickly and she pulled away slightly.

"I'm sorry, Dad." She said.

"It's okay, Sweetheart." Steve said. "It's over, you are forgiven."

He helped her to her feet, and hugged her again.

"It's bedtime, you've got a busy day ahead of you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, Baby."

 **Tbc!**


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning, Roni woke up and looked out her window. It was already a bright and sunny day, a perfect day to lounge on the beach and swim. But because of her actions the day before, she knew she would be inside all day.

With a sigh, she climbed out of bed and quickly showered and changed into a pair of cargo shorts and tee shirt, then walked downstairs and into the kitchen. Nahele was sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal.

"You're up early." Roni said, as she grabbed a banana and a glass of orange juice.

"When I don't have school, I get up early." The older teen shrugged.

"Where's Dad?" Roni wanted to know, as she sat down across from Nahele.

"Swimming." The boy answered. Then he smirked and asked. "Did you really steal Steve's truck?"

"I had every intention of bringing it back in one piece." Roni defended herself, blushing slightly. She knew he must have heard her getting spanked the night before.

"Relax." Nahele said, noticing the blush. He figured he knew the reason behind the blush. "When Steve went upstairs last night, I went for a long walk on the beach. You had privacy."

"Thanks." She said, looking at the table.

"You're not the only one whose has ever ended up over Steve's lap." Nahele assured the girl "I spend a lot of time here, have since I met Steve. He's blistered my tail a few times."

"He's got a hard hand." Roni winced slightly.

"Tell me about it." Nahele sighed.

"How did you and Dad meet?" Roni was curious.

"I stole his car." Nahele said.

"His car?" Asked a shocked Roni. "That hunk of scrap metal in the garage that Dad has a very unhealthy obsession with."

"That's the one." Nahele confirmed.

"Where you suicidal at the time?"

"No, just really hungry." Nahele replied. "My Mom had passed away a couple months before, and my Dad was in prison. I was alone, scared, and hungry. I was walking down a sidewalk when I saw this old car sitting in a driveway. Figured I could steal the car and strip it, then sell the parts. I had never stolen anything before, but I was desperate. I took the car and my plan was working, I got over a hundred bucks from some of the parts. But the HPD arrested me before I could spend any of it.

I was terrified, I just knew that I was going to be locked up. Then the arresting officer said that the car belonged to Commander Steve McGarrett of the Five 0. And then I was beyond terrified. You see, living on the streets, you meet some very um..unsavory people. Now most of the homeless people I met were good people who just ran into some bad luck and were going through a rough patch. But some were career criminals. And even the hardened ones where afraid of Five 0. Especially of Steve McGarrett.

Then I was told that the car had belonged to his recently deceased Father. Man I was one scared dude. I was taken to the Palace and was sitting in Steve's office, when he showed up. I made the mistake of looking up when he entered the room, a decision I regretted instantly. Steve was standing in the doorway, taking up most of the opening, with his arms crossed. He looked intimidating; I quickly looked back down and decided to keep my eyes down."

Nahele chuckled and added. "Kinda like on those nature shows where the explorer bows down to the huge, angry, hairy gorilla. "

"That's not nice." Roni smirked. "Dad isn't that hairy."

"I thought he would be pissed at me." Nahele continued. "But he wasn't, he was understanding and kind. He listened to me and didn't judge me based on one single wrong I did. He got me a job at Kamakono's, got me into a really good group home, and treated me like family. Your Dad is a very special man."

"Yeah, he is." Roni smiled.

The teens heard the door open and shut, then Steve walked into the kitchen. He had a towel slung over his shoulders and his hair was wet.

"Morning children." Steve smiled.

"Morning Dad." She returned the greeting.

"Morning old man." Nahele said, then ducked his head when Steve tried to slap the back of it. "Getting slow in your old a..OW!" The eighteen-year-old yelped as he rubbed the sore spot on his head.

"Alright little boys." Roni laughed. "Behave yourselves."

"He started it." Both males said, pointing to each other.

"I'm gonna take a shower, we leave in fifteen Roni." Steve told his daughter. "We'll go to the school first so you can take your tests, then we go to the palace."

"Yes Sir." Roni replied.

Steve nodded, then headed upstairs.

Nahele saw the expression change on the girl's face, she was starting to look nervous.

"What's wrong little sister?" Nahele asked in concern.

"Nothing." Roni said, placing a fake smile on her face.

"Hey, you can tell me anything." Nahele said. "I'm your big brother, big brothers protect their little sisters. It's a rule, it's written down in the big brothers handbook and everything."

"I said it was nothing." Roni said, as she stood up and grabbed her glass and Nahele's empty bowl. She headed towards the sink and started washing the few dishes. "Just drop it."

She wanted to tell the older teen what she was worried about, but she was scared. She could take a beating without a whole lot of fear, but talking about her feelings scared the hell out of her.

Nahele watched her for a few minutes as she took her time washing and drying the dishes. He also watched as she slammed the bowl down on the counter with enough force to cause the bowl to bounce up and land on the floor. She grabbed the bowl from the floor and tossed it into the sink with a frustrated sigh.

"Roni." Nahele said, standing up and walked over to the girl. "Take it easy, little sister."

He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she turned to look at him.

"What's wrong?" Nahele asked again.

"I'm worried." She admitted.

"About what? The tests?"

"The results." Roni said. "I think I'm a smart kid, I really do. But what if I'm not? What if I am behind the other fourteen-year-olds? What if I'm stupid compared to them?"

"Hey, none of that talk." Nahele said, placing a hand on each of her shoulders and looking into her eyes. "I don't allow people to trash talk my ohana, you are not stupid. Even if you didn't know how to spell the word cat, does not make you stupid."

"I just don't want to disappoint Dad." Roni said.

"Trust me, little Sister." Nahele said. "The only way you could disappoint Steve is if you did not try your best. My Mom was real sick before she died, I had to miss a lot of school in order to stay there and help her. I don't regret it, I would do it again in a heartbeat. But I got way behind in school. And then after Mom passed, and I was living on the streets, I got even further behind. By the time I met Steve, I was two grades behind.

After I found out, I was embarrassed. I thought Steve wouldn't want to be friends with me anymore. So I ran away. But Steve knew where to find me, he knew all of my so called secret places.

Steve told me that my test results didn't disappoint him, but my running away did. He told me that my being behind in school was not my fault and that it did not make me dumb. Steve said that we could overcome any obstacle in front of us if we attacked it together with our heads up. And that running from your problems did not make them go away."

"That sounds like something Dad would say." Roni smiled.

"He also said that if I ever ran away again he would put me over his knee and knock some sense into my ass."

"That also sounds like Dad." Roni chuckled slightly.

"He spent a lot of time with me, helping me study. Getting me caught up. By the time I graduated twelfth grade, on time, I was on the A honor roll. Now I am an all A student in college. And anytime I need help with my studies, I know that Steve will always be there to help."

"You really think he'll be okay if I'm behind?" Roni asked.

"I know he will be." Nahele said, wrapping the younger girl in a tight hug. "Steve is your Dad, he loves you. He doesn't expect you to be perfect, no one is perfect."

"Thanks, Nahele." Roni said, as she returned the hug.

"Anytime, little sister." The teen replied. "I am here for you anytime you need me."

They heard approaching footsteps and quickly broke apart. By the time Steve walked into the kitchen, Roni was putting the dishes away and Nahele was wiping the table.

"Ready to roll?" Steve asked his daughter.

"Yes Sir." She replied.

"Go on and wait for me in the truck, I need to have a word with Nahele."

Roni nodded, then left the room. Steve waited until she was out the front door before he turned towards Nahele and wrapped him in a tight hug, which Nahele returned.

"Thank you son." He said.

"For what?" Nahele asked, as they broke apart.

"I heard part of the conversation, I'm guessing Roni was worried about her test results?"

"Yes Sir." Nahele sighed.

"You are a great big brother." Steve praised him.

"She's a pretty cool little sister." Nahele smiled.

"I better get going before your cool little sister hot wires my truck." Steve laughed.

 **Bluewaters99**

Steve parked his truck in the parking lot of the Franklin Jr. High School, which was four blocks from the McGarrett home. It had been the same school that Steve had attended.

"Roni." Steve said, as he killed the engine. "I just want you to know, that no matter what the test results are, I am proud of you. And if there are any subjects that you need extra help in, I'm here to help you. All you have to do in there, is do your best."

"Okay." Roni replied with a smile. She believed him and she believed Nahele. She believed that no matter what, her ohana would never think less of her just because of some test.

Father and Daughter climbed out of the truck and entered the large two story school building.

"This place hasn't changed much." Steve said, as they walked down a long hallway. There were signs directing them to the principal's office. Steve stopped in front of three large display cases, looking at one.

"That's you." Roni smiled, seeing a very young Steve McGarrett in a football uniform, receiving a trophy.

"And there's Chin." Steve said, nodding towards another picture. He smirked and added. "I shattered all of his records."

"The only reason you were such of a good quarterback." A male voice said behind them. "Is because you had an amazing and extremely talented running back on your side."

Steve and Roni turned and saw a man around Steve's age. He was wearing a grey suit and tie.

"Grant." Steve smiled, as the two men hugged.

"It's good to see you again, Steve." The man said. then he smiled at Roni. "You must be Veronica."

"Yes Sir." She said. "But I prefer Roni."

"Then Roni it is." The man said. "I am Grant Franks, the principal here, and an old teammate of your Dad."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Franks." Roni said.

"Well, she's a whole lot more polite then you were at her age." Franks said to Steve. "As I recall, you had an attitude at fourteen."

"Me?" Steve asked in mock shock. "You are the one who spent most of his time in detention."

"Hey, you were usually in there right beside me." Franks said.

"Really?" Roni asked, smirking at her Dad.

"Yeah, but I always paid for my transgressions when Dad got a hold of me." Steve said.

"That's very true." Franks winced. Then he smiled again at Roni. "Come on, Roni. The tests are waiting."

He lead them further down the hall and into a classroom, where a middle aged Woman was sitting behind a large desk. She stood up and smiled when the three walked in.

"You must be young Veronica." The woman smiled as she walked over. "I am Milly Konnokoko; I am one of the guidance counselors here."

"She prefers Roni." Franks informed the woman. "And this is Steve McGarrett."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ma'am." Roni said.

"The pleasure is all mine, Roni." The woman replied. "Mr. McGarrett, the test should be over in two hours. You are welcomed to wait in the main office, we will inform you when we are ready to give you two the results."

"Thank you Ma'am?" Steve said.

 **Bluewaters99**

Two and a half hours later, Steve and Roni were sitting in the outer office. The only other person in the room was an elderly woman sitting at a desk. Steve and Roni had been waiting for almost half an hour, while Roni's tests were graded.

"So Dad." Roni smiled. "I would love to hear more about your high school days and the whole detention thing."

"Sweetheart, your new principal is a compulsive liar, I was a very good boy all throughout my school career." Steve said.

There was a loud snort from behind the desk and they looked at the woman, who was looking at Steve as if the man grew a second head.

"I take it that you do not agree, Mrs. Greggs." Roni said.

"Steven was indeed a good boy." The elderly woman replied. "But also very mischievous."

"Who me?" Steve asked, trying to sound innocent.

"When your Father was thirteen." Mrs. Greggs said. "He put a frog in my desk."

"You big meany." Roni said.

"When he was fourteen, he filled the swimming pool in the gym with live fish." The woman continued.

Roni laughed, then said. "My Dad was a delinquent."

"I'm sure he still is." Franks said, as he entered the room. Ms. Konnokoko was with him.

"Hey, the fish were your idea." Steve reminded him.

"Roni, I truly hope you have more sense than your Dad did at your age." Mr. Franks said.

"Of course I do Sir." Roni replied. "I am an angel compared to this big bozo."

"So is Atila The Hun." Mrs. Greggs remarked.

"I think I am going to regret enrolling you into this school." Steve said, looking at his daughter.

"I think I am going to enjoy it." Roni smirked.

"Feel free to stop by this office at anytime, Honey." Mrs. Greggs said. "I will fill you in on some of your Dad's little adventures."

"Thank you, Ma'am." Roni said. "I would like that."

"Yep." Steve sighed. "I wonder if it's too late to enroll you into another school?"

"Yes it is." Mr. Franks chuckled. "Come on into my office and Ms. Konnokoko will go over Roni's test results."

Steve and Roni followed them into the inner office and all four sat down. Steve saw the nervous look on his daughter's face and reached and squeezed her hand. She looked at him and he gave her a reassuring smile, which she returned.

"Roni, you are a very bright girl." Ms. Konnokoko said. "You scored slightly to moderately above your age group in all of the English, civics, history, and science classes. But I am concerned about your math skills. You are about a grade below standard in that area."

Roni looked down at her hands, slightly embarrassed.

"Hey, it's okay Roni." Steve assured her, giving her hand another squeeze. "That's what tutors are for."

"Your Dad is right." Ms. Konnokoko said. then she looked at Steve and smiled. "I am glad that you are supportive of Roni, she will need help to bring her math grade up."

"She will have help." Steve said.

"Mr. Suko is an excellent teacher who specializes in helping students who need extra attention." Ms. Konnokoko said.

"See, Roni." Steve smiled at her. "Between Mr. Suko, your ohana, and your stubborn nature; your grade will come up in no time."

"Who said I was stubborn?" Roni wanted to know.

"Everyone who know you, Sweetheart." Steve replied. "Everyone who knows you.

 **Bluewaters99**

An hour later, Roni was sitting at her Dad's desk in the Palace. She was working on some math problems, and was bored. She never liked math, but the young teen was determined to bring her grade up.

Steve had given her enough assignments to keep her busy until lunch. Roni looked up when the door to the office opened.

"Hey, Dad." She said, as Steve stepped into the office.

"Hey Sweetheart." Steve smiled. "How's it going?"

"Alright." Roni sighed. "I guess."

"Just do the problems you can, and I will help you with the ones you can't a little later." Steve said. "We caught a case and I've got to leave, stay in the office. Someone will be by in a bit with lunch, after lunch you have three hours of free time. But remember, you are grounded from all electronics. You can read or anything else though. But you are to remain in this office unless someone gives you permission to leave."

"Yes Sir." Ron replied. "Be careful out there."

"Always." Steve said. "If you need something, Jerry is in the building."

After talking a few more moments, Steve left and Roni went back to her math problems.

 **Bluewaters99**

A couple hours later, Steve and Danny were heading back to the Palace when Steve's phone rang. He looked at the caller ID before answering it.

"Hey Odell." He said, as he placed the call on speaker phone. "Any news?"

"Yeah, but you aren't going to like it." The man replied. "I went to see Ms. Harris and offered my legal services, but she refused. She's already got a lawyer."

"Who?" Steve asked.

"Milton Hayward." Odell replied.

"That's impossible." Steve said. "Hayward is the most expensive lawyer on the island, how can Meagan possibly hire him?"

"I knew you would ask that." Odell said. "So I did some checking. The bill is being paid by Harold Norton."

"As in Norton enterprises, which has their hands in just about every money making scehm on the island? Both legal and illegal." Steve said.

"That's the one." Odell said.

"HPD has been trying to pin charges on Norton for the past ten years, but nothing has stuck." Danny said.

"We did a full background check on Meagan, Norton's name never came up." Steve said. "His name didn't come up in Coleman or Woodall's background either."

"Ms. Harris wasn't very forth coming with information." Odell said. "But Steve, she…um…she called your daughter all kinds of horrible names. I would not advise taking her to see that bitch."

"Thank you Odell." Steve said with a weary sigh. "Problem is, Roni want to see her."

"Ms. Harris seems convinced that young Roni is the cause of all of her problems, that Roni somehow betrayed her." Odell said. "By the way, when am I going to meet your daughter?"

"Anytime, Odell." Steve said. "Roni is an amazing kid."

 **Bluewaters99**

Roni was still sitting at Steve's desk when she heard a soft knock, then the door opening. She looked up and smiled as Jerry walked in, carrying two Styrofoam plates and two bottles of water.

"Lunch time." He smiled, placing the items on the desk. "I got loaded taco salads."

"Sounds good." Roni said, closing her math book. "I need a break."

"How's the math coming?" Jerry asked.

"Don't ask." Roni sighed.

"I never was too good in math." Jerry said. "So I can sympathize with you."

"Me neither." Roni said.

"Don't worry about it." Jerry said, reaching out and squeezing her shoulder. "You are a very smart kid, you'll get the hang of math. And even if you don't, that will not change who you are. And it will not change your family's opinion of you."

"Thanks, Jerry." Roni smiled.

The two friends began eating and talking, enjoying each other's company.

"So, any more urges to commit grand theft auto?" Jerry asked with a smirk.

"No way." Roni frowned. "I will never do that again, Dad has a real hard hand. And I'm grounded, which sucks. My art is even limited to two hours a day all this week." Then she sighed and said. "But I deserved what I got. It was dangerous. I did learn one thing."

"What's that?"

"Grace is not good under pressure." Roni smirked and added. "I thought she was going to have a stroke or something when that dog ran out in the road."

Jerry laughed, then asked. "How's your school schedule? Any classes you're excited about?"

"I have art third period." Roni smiled. "And P.E. seventh period."

"Both classes I am sure you will enjoy." Jerry said. "What else?"

"Math is first period." Roni frowned. "Wonderful way to start the day. Then second period is English, art, American History, lunch, science, Spanish, and P.E."

"You're taking Spanish, Bueno."

"I needed a foreign language class." Roni said. "Ms. Konnokoko suggested Spanish since I already know some, and I am starting so late in the year."

"Makes sense."

"Your Warden said you can have three hours before Grace gets here and you two start your chores. What do you want to do?"

"I could really use a long run right now." Roni said. "But I am not allowed to leave without an adult."

"Come on, Kiddo." Jerry said. "I'll take you to your house to grab some workout clothes, and take you to a park so you can run around it while I sit on a nice comfy bench and watch."

"Thanks, Jerry." Roni said.

"No problem."

 **Bluewaters99**

 **Tbc…**

Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed it. I just wanted to warn everyone that the next chapter, which I hope to have up very soon, will contain the spanking of a five-year-old boy by his Father.

I also want to say that I do not know anything about child psychology or treatment of PTSD, or the systems of PTSD. Some of the things in the next chapter about PTSD and the treatments of it I made up. Some I got off of other shows and stuff.


	14. Chapter 14

**I am sorry about the long wait. First my Mom got sick with the flu and I had to care for her. Then I got bronchitis and strep. Feeling much better now, but still kinda weak and coughing.**

 **I know most of the story has dealt with Steve and Roni, but I plan on writing about all of the Five- 0 team as family. I also plan on adding more people a little later on.**

 **WARNING! THIS CHAPTER HAS THE SPANKING OF TWO FIVE-YEAR-OLDS BY THEIR PARENTS!**

 **I will have the next chapter up no later than Saturday, I plan on spending a large portion of Friday writing.**

 **I hope you are still enjoying this story.**

Jerry and Roni walked into the Five 0 Headquarters three hours later, Grace was already there.

"Have a nice run?" Steve asked his daughter.

"Yes Sir." She replied. Then she smirked and added. "We picked up Nahele and he ran with me. For a little while anyway, I out ran him."

"That's my girl." Steve smiled.

Then his voice grew serious, as did his facial expressions. "Okay, you two. Today you will clean the conference room that we never use, there is plenty of dust in there to keep you busy for about two hours."

"Scientific studies have shown that too much dust can be devastating to a person's health." Grace said. "Don't you care about our health, Uncle Steve?"

"It's either clean the conference room, or the men's room." Steve replied. "You choose."

"Conference room." Both teens said as one.

"Come on, I'll show you where all of the supplies are." Steve said. He led them down a long hallway to a supply closet, then to a large room.

"Two hours." Steve said, as he left the girls alone in the room.

"I am so sorry my idea got us into trouble." Grace said, as they started cleaning.

"It's not just your fault." Roni said. "I went along with it."

"I'm guessing Uncle Steve spanked you?" Grace asked with a sympathetic wince.

"Yeah." Roni sighed. "He's got a really hard hand."

"I know." Grace said. "He's spanked me a few times before, he spanks as hard as Danno."

"He hugged me after he spanked me." Roni said, not really sure why she was telling the other girl. When it happened, Roni didn't think anything about it. She was too concerned with her throbbing butt. But now, the idea seemed kinda strange.

"Of course he did." Grace replied. Not finding it odd at all. "Danno hugged me after he spanked me, he always does. So does Uncle Steve. Uncle Chin has only spanked me once, but he hugged me afterwards too."

"Why?" Roni was curious. "Uncle Philip never hugged me, especially after having to spank me. He never told me he forgave me either. He just stayed mad for a while, then it was over."

"After you get punished, you're forgiven." Grace said, placing a hand on the younger girl's shoulder and looking into her eyes. "That's how it works in this ohana. And you will always get hugged, it's their way of letting you know that even though you screwed up, you are still loved."

"I like the hugs better then the spankings." Roni winced.

"Absolutely." Grace agreed with a smile. "Luckily, the hugs occur way more often then the spankings."

 **BLUWEATERS99**

It was almost two hours later, when the Five 0 team were finishing up their paperwork. Steve was sitting at his desk, signing some papers, when he saw his sister and Aunt Deb walk into the outer office.

With a smile, Steve tossed his pen down and stood up. He walked into the outer office, and right into the waiting arms of his Aunt.

"Aunt Deb, when did you get here?" Steve asked ,as they hugged.

"My plane landed half an hour ago." The older woman said, kissing his cheek. "So where is my Niece?"

"Her and Grace are cleaning out a conference room." Steve said. "They should be about done, how about we go and grab dinner?"

"Already ahead of you, I am famished." Deb replied. "Airline food is the pits. Mary made us reservations."

"I'll go get my Daughter." Steve said, as he turned and walked off.

Before Steve moved over a few feet, they heard a loud scream coming from behind the door leading to the hallway. The Five 0 team were on instant alert, and drew their weapons. The door burst open and Grace ran into the room, screaming.

"Danno!" She screeched as she almost mowed the man down, throwing her arms around him and burring her face into his chest. "It attacked me!"

Steve rushed to the door, going to check on Roni. Kono and Chin were right behind him. Lou was standing near Danny, making sure whatever 'it' was, did not come after the girl again.

"Relax." Roni said, as she jogged down the hallway, laughing. "There are not any masked terrorists or killer grizzly bears running loose."

"Roni." Steve said, relieved. But confused. "What the hell happened?" everyone re-holstered their guns.

Steve, Kono, and Chin stepped aside to allow the young teen to enter the outer office. She looked over at Grace, who was still clinging to her Dad, and smirked.

"Grace!" She called out. "It followed us!"

"Daddy!" Grace screeched, as she attempted to climb the man.

"Calm down, Monkey." Danny said, trying to consul the girl "Nothing is in here, you are safe. You are safe, Gracie."

"Veronica." Steve said sternly, instantly wiping the smirk off of Roni's face. "Explain."

"First off, I am completely innocent of all charges." Roni said. "Yes, Grace was screaming like a little girl and running around like a chicken with his head cut off. And yes I was laughing. But I was not the only one laughing. There is a tiny little mouse in the conference room, that is laughing its tail off right now."

"A mouse." Danny sighed. "Seriously." He pulled Grace back a little and looked down at her face. "All of this over a mouse?"

"It was huge." Grace said. Then she turned towards Steve. "I am so sorry I drove your truck Uncle Steve. I will never ever do it again. Please don't make me go back in there."

"You're done for the day, Honey." Steve said, wrapping the fifteen-year-old in a hug. "I promise, I will put out some traps before I leave."

"What kind of traps?" Roni asked. "Come on, Dad. You can't just kill an innocent mouse because Grace is a sissy."

"I am not a sissy." Grace said. "It was a huge hairy monster." She looked up at Steve and said. "It was as big as the one Nahele chased me up the tree with last summer. It….."

"It's behind you!" Roni shouted.

As she expected, Grace screamed and attached herself to her Uncle Steve. But she did not expect Kono to also scream, just nowhere near as loud, and move closer to Chin.

"Kono?" Steve asked the woman with a raised eyebrow.

"Kono is terrified of mice." Chin laughed. "I use to chase her around with little field mice when we were younger."

"Uncle Chin." Grace scolded the man. "That was mean. You are a big bully, just like Nahele and Roni." She was still hugging Steve.

"Maybe." Chin agreed with a smile. "But it was extremely funny."

"No it wasn't." Kono shuddered.

"You are scared of mice." Danny said, smirking at Kono. "I never would have guessed that."

"Mice are evil creatures." Kono defended herself.

"Totally." Grace said, as she untangled herself from Steve. "Mice are really evil. Mice are….."

"Right behind you!" Roni shouted, causing Grace to once again scream and throw herself into her Uncle Steve's arms.

"Veronica." Steve's voice was hard. "Enough, young lady."

"Yes Sir." Roni said, but was still smiling.

"You were right, Mary." Deb chuckled. "She is a smaller, prettier version of Steve. "

"Aunt Deb!" Grace smiled, just now noticing that the woman was there. She rushed to her and they hugged.

"It is so good to see you, Grace." Deb said. "How have you been?"

"Great." Grace said. "I'm so glad you're here."

They broke apart and Deb looked at Roni with a fond smile.

"It is nice to meet you, Roni." She said. "I am your Aunt Deb."

"It's nice to meet you, Ma'am." Roni said.

Deb wrapped the teen in a hug and kissed her cheek. "We have fourteen years to catch up on my dear."

Roni returned the hug after only a moment's hesitation. She was getting more and more used to being hugged. Even by people she was meeting for the first time.

"Nahele is picking up Joanie from the sitters." Mary said. "They are meeting us at the restaurant. We need to get going."

"Go on, Steve." Danny said. "I know where some traps are, I'll set them out." Then he smiled at Roni and added. "They are the catch and release type."

"Where are you going to release them?" Grace wanted to know.

"Your bedroom." Roni replied.

"Kono's house." Chin said at the same time.

"Do and I will shoot you with the biggest gun I can find." Kono said, glaring at her cousin.

"She'll shoot you too." Grace said, glaring at Roni.

"No one is going to shoot anyone." Danny chuckled. "I will release the mouse in a field somewhere."

"I may never speak to you again." Grace told Roni. But there was not any bitterness or anger in her voice.

"Oh come on, can't you take a joke?" Roni asked.

"No." Grace huffed.

"Please forgive me." Roni said, tilting her head slightly and giving the other girl a crooked smile. Grace swore she looked even more like Steve then normal when she gave that smile.

"I'll make a deal with you." Roni said. "If you forgive me, I will help you torture Nahele."

"What kind of torture?" Grace wanted to know.

"The kind that will make him regret chasing you up a tree." Roni said.

"Okay." Grace smiled. "I forgive you." Hugging the younger girl.

"Come on." Steve laughed. "Let's go."

Steve, Deb, Mary, and Roni left the office and headed outside to Steve's truck. They had decided to take the truck, then pick up Mary's car later.

"Mary tells me that you are an artist." Deb said.

She was sitting in the front passenger seat and was turned as far sideways as her seatbelt allowed in order to get a better look at her new great niece.

"Yes Ma'am." Roni replied. "I really enjoy art."

"She's very talented." Steve smiled, as he drove.

"I would love to see some of your drawings." Deb said.

"Sure." Roni smiled. "Anytime."

"Mary said that you liked to draw. Are you interested in other mediums as well? Like painting or pastels?"

"Actually, I would love to try other things." Roni replied. "But I have never been in the position to try the other mediums. But since Dad is giving me an allowance, I was planning on buying some more art supplies a little later on."

"Roni." Steve said. "Why haven't you said anything? I will buy you painting supplies or anything…."

"You've bought me enough things, Dad." Roni said, in a determined voice. "Art supplies are not a necessity. You bought me a sketch pad and pencils, that is plenty for now."

"Roni." Steve sighed. "You are the most stubborn kid I've ever met. I have already told you that I am the Father here, I decide what amount of money I spend. You are the kid."

"Yeah, Roni." Mary said. "Adults are supposed to spend money on their kids. Christmas is coming up, you are going to get a lot of presents. Not only from your Dad, but from the rest of your ohana as well."

"I don't need…." Roni started.

"Veronica." Steve's voice was stern. "You are going to have to get used to people buying you things. You need more clothes, a phone, art supplies, and other things. And you are not going to argue every time someone buys you something."

"You're going to buy me a phone just so I can't use it?" Roni snapped.

"Young lady." Steve said, his voice still stern. "You get smart one more time, and I will introduce you to an old McGarrett family tradition. Pulling over to the side of the road to spank a smart mouth kid."

"Sorry, Sir." Roni said. she hadn't meant to snap, she just wasn't used to people trying to be nice to her.

"You are only grounded from electronics until Friday afternoon, I will buy you a phone over the weekend." Steve said, his voice softening.

"All of this must be strange to you, Honey." Deb said, smiling at the young girl. "But you are not alone, we will help you get used to having us as a family."

"Yeah." Mary agreed. "Steve is kinda hard to get used to. But Aunt Deb and me are real nice."

 **Bluewater99**

The next morning, Roni woke up in a cold sweat. She was panting hard and shaking, the images from her dream still etched in her brain.

It wasn't the first time she had had the dream, she had lost count a couple years ago. But no matter how many times she had it, it still scared the hell out of her.

Roni looked at the clock on the nightstand and sighed, it was only a little after three in the morning. But she knew that she was not going to be able to go back to sleep, she never could after that dream.

The fourteen-year-old saw her sketch pad laying on the nightstand and picked it and a pencil up. She knew she was limited to only two hours of art, but she also knew that she had to calm down. She was still shaking, and was still scared. She knew it was only a dream, knew that she was safe. But that knowledge did nothing to settle her nerves.

Roni started drawing, but not her normal drawings. These were darker, more depressing and morbid. She always drew like that after having that dream, she couldn't help it.

The fourteen-year-old continued to drew, finally relaxing a little after the second drawing. By the time six thirty arrived, she was calmer. But still feeling depressed, and guilty. She had been drawing for nearly three and a half hours, way over her allotted time.

Roni showered and dressed and was downstairs by seven. Nahele was sitting in the kitchen eating.

"Morning Little Sister." He smiled. "There's some scrambled eggs and bacon on the stove."

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry." Roni said. She sat down and laid the sketch book on the table. "Nahele, have you ever broke your grounding before?"

"Yeah, once." The eighteen-year-old winched. "But only once."

He looked up from his food and got a good look at the younger teen. The girl looked exhausted, she had bags under her eyes and looked as if she hadn't had much sleep.

"You look like crap." Nahele said, concern evident in his voice. "You okay?"

"Not really." Roni sighed. "Where's Dad?"

"Right here." The two teens turned towards the door and saw Steve enter the room. "What's wrong, Roni?"

"We need to talk." Roni said, as she looked down at the table. "I broke my grounding."

"Nahele, can you give us a few minutes?" Steve asked, as he walked further into the room and sat down beside his daughter.

"Sure." Nahele said, standing up. He gave his sister a sympathetic smile and squeezed her shoulder as he passed her.

"Did you call someone?" Steve asked, wondering who she would be calling this early.

"No Sir." Roni replied, without looking up.

"Did you use the computer?"

"No Sir."

"Veronica." Steve said, sternly. "I am not having this conversation with the top of your head. Eyes up and explain. The only things you were grounded from was anything electronic and drawing. Now I know you haven't used all of your drawing time already….." He stopped talking when he saw the look in her eyes.

Roni looked up and said. "I drew for about three and half hours this morning."

Steve glanced at his watch, then looked at his daughter and sighed. "Bad dream?" He asked, his voice was gentle and calm.

"Yes Sir."

"You could have come and woken me up, then you wouldn't have had to go through it alone." Steve said, as he hugged her.

Roni wasn't sure if it was because her Dad was being so understanding about it when she thought he would be angry, or if it was still remnants of her dream. But what ever the reason, the fourteen-year-old started crying hard. Steve gently picked her up, sat her in his lap, and hugged tighter.

"It is okay, Sweetheart." Steve assured the girl. "I've got you, it's okay."

After a few moments, the tears stopped and Roni sat up straight. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about." Steve said. "In fact, I am the one who owes you an apology. I knew you use art to help you calm your nerves. I should have put that into consideration when I grounded you. Now I normally will not tolerate you doing something I specifically told you not to do, but I understand why you did it this time."

Steve kissed the top of her head and said, "for the rest of the week, you may draw longer. But only if you need to, not just for the fun of it."

"Thanks, Dad."

"I'm proud you Sweetheart." Steve said, as he gently cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her head up. "You broke your grounding, and you thought you would get into trouble for disobeying me. But you still came forward and admitted the truth, that tells me a lot about your character. "

Roni smiled at the compliment.

"You wanna talk about the dream?" Steve asked, causing the smile on her face to disappear.

"No Sir."

"It might help."

"I….I can't."

"Okay, Sweetheart." Steve said, once again hugging her. "But I am here whenever you get ready to talk."

After a few more minutes, Steve kissed the top of her head and said. "Change of plans for the day. I am taking the day off and staying here, you are going back to your room and getting some more sleep."

"You don't have to do that, I'm okay." Roni said.

"Are you kidding?" Steve smiled. "It's an excuse for me to be lazy for the day."

"Thanks, Dad." Roni returned the smile.

"Get some sleep, and I will be here the whole time. If that dream comes back, come get me. you don't have to be afraid, I am here for you."

Roni stood up and left the room, heading back upstairs to bed. Steve watched her go, then reached over and picked up his daughter's sketch book. The images he saw disturbed him. they were much more dark then her normal drawings.

The first one was of an old, creepy looking, dead tree. There was a noose swaying from one of the branches. Dark clouds swirled in the night sky.

The second one was of a faceless black shadow, the same dark gloomy clouds loomed in the sky.

The third was of an old abandoned shack in the middle of a creepy looking forest filled with dead trees. Once again, dark gloomy clouds were present.

Steve laid the pad back down and ran a tired hand over his face. He knew his little girl was hurting, knew she was holding back some very disturbing facts about her life with her Uncle. He just didn't know how to get her to open up to him.

 **Bluewaters99**

Later that morning, Danny and Mary were sitting in the office at their kid's preschool. They had both been called in. Currently, they were the only ones in the small office.

"What's up with your children being such bad influences on the sweet innocent McGarrett children?" Mary asked.

"Excuse me?" Danny asked with mock anger. "It is the McGarrettt kids that are the bad influences. I always knew Joanie was a little trouble maker."

"She takes after her Uncle Steve." Mary replied.

Before Danny could reply, the door opened and Mrs. Miller walked in. A young woman was with her.

"I want to thank you three for coming in." Mrs. Miller said. "I just wish it were under better circumstances. A little while ago, your children's class were having movie time. Charlie, Joanie, and Mikey decided that they wanted to play outside instead of watch the movie. They managed to sneak out of the classroom and into the hallway, before they were caught by another teacher."

"What were they thinking?" Danny sighed. He knew the dangers of children wondering off, knew just how badly it could have ended.

"I don't see what the big deal is." The younger woman said, sounding upset about being dragged there. "Kids wonder off, no big deal."

"I am afraid it is a big deal, Mrs. Greene." Mrs. Miller said. "If they were not caught, they could have made it outside, maybe even off of school property. This is not a behavior we will tolerate, especially when we have our annual trip to the zoo this Friday."

"Look, Ma'am." Danny said. "I get that it may not seem like a big deal. But I have been a cop for many years, and nothing good ever comes from kids wondering off on their own."

"Whatever." The woman said, rolling her eyes.

 **Bluewaters99**

The ride to the William's home was made in silence. Five-year-old Charlie was sitting in the back seat, staring out the window. He knew he was in trouble. His Daddy had always told him never to wonder off without an adult.

Danny pulled into his driveway and killed the engine.

"Come on, Buddy." Danny said, keeping his voice soft. He opened his door and climbed out, then he opened the back door and helped his son out. Taking the young boy's hand, he lead him into the house and over to the sofa where they both sat down.

"Why did you try to sneak off?" Danny asked.

Charlie didn't answer, he just hung his head and started playing with the hem of his batman tee shirt.

"Charles." Danny's voice hardened slightly. "You know the rules, Buddy. Eyes up and use your voice."

"We just wanted to go outside and play." The little boy said, looking up.

"Even though you were supposed to be inside watching a movie?" Danny asked.

"Yes Sir."

"You know that you are not allowed to wonder around alone." Danny said. "You are still very young, very small. You need an adult to keep an eye on you. You know all of that, don't you?"

"Yes Sir." Charlie said. "I'm sorry Danno."

"An apology isn't enough this time, Buddy." Danny said. "You've earned yourself a spanking."

"I won't do it again." Charlie said, his bottom lip trembling.

Danny looked into the little boy's eyes and wanted to cave, but he knew he couldn't. as Charlie's Father, it was his responsibility to help the boy learn right from wrong.

Danny had seen some horrible things in his years on the police force that had all started off with a kid wondering off on their own. He had to make sure that his son did not make this a habit.

Danny gently lifted his son up and placed him on his feet in front of him.

"I don't want a spanking Danno." Charlie said, giving his Dad his best puppy eyes.

"And I do not want to make rules just to have you ignore them, young man." Danny said. "Now you know how things work around here. You broke one of the major rules, and you will be punished for it."

"Yes Sir." Charlie sniffled, using both hands to cover his bottom.

Danny gently took one of Charlie's hands and pulled him closer, then he unbuttoned and unzipped the little boy's jeans pulling them down to his knees. Danny lifted the small boy up and gently placed him over his lap, wrapping an arm securely around his waist.

Since Charlie was still small Danny preferred to spank him over his underwear or on the bare, in order to see exactly how much damage his hand was doing. He wanted to correct his son's behavior, not cause any serious harm.

Danny used to spank Grace the same way when she was little, but now it was very rare that Danny had the teenager to remove her clothes for a spanking. He felt that it would be too humiliating for the girl to disrobe in front of her Father. That was the last thing he wanted to do to his kids.

"Why are you about to get spanked?" Danny asked, as he gently rubbed a hand over the little boy's back.

"Cause I wondered off away from the adults." Charlie sniffled. "And no adult knew where I was."

Danny removed his hand from the boy's back and began the spanking. The first swat caused the young boy to yelp, and by the sixth he was crying. Danny continued to bring his hand down on the small bottom in his lap until Charlie was crying hard and his bottom and the tops of his thighs were a dark pink.

Danny stopped the spanking and gently picked his son up and settled him into a sitting position on his lap. He wrapped his arms around the boy and kissed the top of his head.

"It's over, Buddy." Danny assured the young boy. "It's all over, you're forgiven."

"I'm sorry, Danno." Charlie said, as he hugged his Dad.

"All's forgiven, Buddy." Danny said. "You broke a rule and you were punished for it."

 **Bluewaters99**

Deb was sitting on a sofa in Mary's living room, when the front door opened and five-year-old Joanie walked in. The little girl had her head hung down and looked as if she were about to cry.

"What's wrong, Little Lamb?" Deb asked, as she stood up and rushed over to the small girl.

"Momma's really mad at me." Joanie replied, as Mary walked into the room.

"What ever for, Dear?" Deb asked, as she hugged the little girl close to her.

"I did something bad." Joanie whispered.

"Go on to your room, I will be in there in a minute." Mary told her young daughter.

"Yes Momma." Joanie sniffled, rushing out of the room.

"What happened, Mary?" Deb asked the younger woman.

"Joan, Charlie, and another little boy decided to play Houdini." Mary explained. "They snuck out of their classroom in order to go outside to play without supervision."

"How far did they get?" Deb asked.

"Luckily, not very far at all." Mary answered. Then she sighed and said. "I guess I better get this over with."

"It never gets easy." Deb said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But just remember that you are helping her learn from her mistakes. I never liked having to spank you, but I never regretted it either. You turned into an amazing woman and an excellent Mother."

"I had a pretty good role model." Mary smiled.

"So does Joanie." Deb responded.

Mary walked to her daughter's door and knocked, then walked into the bedroom. Joanie was sitting on the bed.

"Want to explain why you tried to sneak away from class?" Mary asked, as she sat down beside her daughter.

"We just wanted to play." Joanie said. "I'm sorry."

"You know better than to wonder off, young lady." Mary said. "No one would have known where you were if one of you would have gotten hurt or lost."

"I know." The little girl admitted.

"You knew you were breaking a rule when you snuck out, didn't you?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Then you know that you will have to be punished."

"Uh huh." The five-year-old said sadly.

Mary reached out and gently took her daughter's arm, then guided her over her lap. Then wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled up the hem of the girl's dress, revealing Snow White panties.

Mary took a deep breath, then brought her hand down sharply on the small bottom in her lap. Joan yelped after the first swat, and continued to yelp for the next few. Soon the little girl was crying hard and Mary stopped the spanking and flipped the little girl's dress back down.

Then she gently picked the little girl up and settled her into a sitting position on her lap.

"It's okay, Joanie." Mary soothed the child. "It's over, your punishment is over. No more wondering off, Honey."

"I won't Momma." Joanie sniffled.

"I love you, honey."

"I love you too."

 **Bluewaters99**

Later that morning, Steve was sitting on his sofa reading, when he heard sounds of movement from upstairs. With a deep sigh, Steve looked at his watch. It had only been two hours since he had sent his daughter back to bed, apparently she couldn't fall back to sleep.

Steve looked up when he heard the young girl enter the room. She still looked tired and worn out.

"Couldn't sleep?" Steve asked.

"No Sir."

Steve extended his arm in a welcoming gesture. Roni sat beside him and laid her head on his shoulder, leaning against him. Steve wrapped his arm around the girl and said. "We need to talk about something, Sweetheart."

"Okay."

Steve took a moment to gather his thoughts and try to figure out how to put what he was thinking into words.

"I know you have a million emotions running through your mind right now, all fighting for control." Steve said, his voice soft and comforting. "I know that feeling, it's a very scary and lonely feeling. I am here to talk to, any time you want to talk. But I think you might benefit from speaking to someone more qualified to help you deal with these feelings."

"You mean a shrink?" Roni asked, as she jerked her Dad's arm off of her and slid to the other side of the sofa. The young teen was glaring at the man.

"I mean someone who can help you sort out your feelings and help you." Steve said.

Roni jumped to her feet and shouted, "I am not fucking crazy!"

"I didn't say you were." Steve said, keeping his voice soft, but giving the girl a stern look. "And I would advise you to watch your language and your attitude."

"I am not crazy." Roni said, lowering her voice.

"I know you are not crazy." Steve replied.

"Then why do you want me to go see a shrink?"

"I want you to speak with a therapist to see if it will help you, I am only trying to help."

"I am not going." Roni said, determination in her voice.

"I think it will help." Steve said. "But I will not force you to go, it has to be your decision. I understand your reluntace to seek help, I was the same way."

"Yeah, Danny told me about you two seeing a shrink. How's that working out for you?" Roni snapped.

She knew her Dad was trying to help, she knew he wasn't trying to be mean to her. But she couldn't help feeling hurt. She couldn't help feeling that her Dad thought she was like her Mom, that she was as broken as her Mom.

Steve took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. Then he spoke, his voice still low but full of authority. "I am trying to be patient here, because I know you had a rough night and are tired. But I am not going to sit here and allow you to speak to me that way. Now sit down and we will discuss this calmly, or continue to stand there and be disrespectful and see what that earns you."

"Sorry, Sir." Roni said, as she sat back down. "But I am not crazy."

"Like I said, I never said you were crazy." Steve said. "Neither was I the first time I saw a therapist."

"The first time?" Roni asked.

"Yeah, the first time. When I was training to be a Seal, I thought I could handle anything. Then one of my first missions went sideways fast, and I lost a team member. And a good friend. I was distraught, it felt like I was losing my mind. I wanted to quit the Seals and just bury my head in the sand.

When Joe suggested me seeing a therapist, I was pissed at him. I thought he thought I was crazy, and it upset me. It also upset me that I knew he was right, I knew I did need help. I wasn't used to needing help."

Steve sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Talking to someone helped a lot. It helped me understand that I was not at fault for my friend dying. And helped me to figure out if I was cut out to continue with the Seals.

At first it was real uncomfortable talking to a stranger. But after awhile, it felt kinda natural. Like talking to a friend. It helped a lot."

Roni sighed and closed her eyes, trying to clear her head and think straight.

"Why were you so upset when I suggested talking to someone?" Steve asked.

Roni opened her eyes and said in a low voice, "As far back as I can remember, my Mom had been in and out of hospitals and rehab. She had been diagnosed with several different types of mental illnesses. I guess I'm scared that I will be too if I saw a therapist."

"Sweetheart." Steve said, taking his daughter's hands into his. "You are not your Mother."

"I'm just not ready to see a shrink." Roni said. "Please don't make me."

"I won't make you." Steve assured the teen. "Like I said, it has to be your decision."

Steve's phone vibrated and he fished it out of his pocket.

"It's Joe." Steve said, as he read the text message. "His plane arrives in half an hour, he wants us to pick him up from the airport."

"I'll go grab my shoes." Roni said, as she stood up.

Tbc….


	15. Chapter 15

**I want to thank everyone for the kind reviews, I really appreciate them. A few people asked about a scene where Nahele and Roni get in trouble together, and I liked the idea. I will work it into the story soon.**

 **If anyone else has any suggestions or ideas, feel free to let me know.**

 **WARNING::::: This chapter discusses past mental child abuse and cruelty to animals.**

As Steve and Roni were leaving to pick up Joe from the airport, Nahele returned. So now the three of them were standing in the middle of the extremely crowded airport.

"There he is." Nahele smiled, when he saw Joe walking towards them. "And he's got a friend."

Steve looked in the direction the younger man was looking and saw his lifetime friend. He also sat the friend Nahele mentioned. The older man had a large German Sheppard dog walking beside him.

Roni saw the man they were looking at, and the dog. She froze and for a few seconds she felt as if she couldn't catch her breath. He looked a lot like her Uncle Philip, even walked like him. And the dog reminded her of her dog, the dog that has been haunting her dreams for the past two years.

Roni quickly regained her composer before Steve and Nahele noticed anything. She plastered a fake smile on her face as the man and dog reached them.

Joe and Steve briefly hugged, then Joe and Nahele hugged.

"What's with the mutt?" Steve asked.

"Rocky is not a mutt, he is a full blooded German Sheppard, and a retired Marine dog. A couple months ago, Rocky was in Afghanistan sniffing out A. . He was injured, not seriously, but bad enough to earn him an honorable discharge. A buddy of mine asked me to take him in.

"How did you get him through quarantine so quickly?" Nahele asked, as he petted the dog's head and smiled when the dog started wagging his tail.

"He just got out of quarantine before being allowed in the US." Joe replied. "Still had his papers."

Joe looked at Roni, who was standing slightly behind her Dad, and smiled at her.

"You must be Roni, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Sir." Roni said. She was still smiling, but the men noticed that she seemed nervous.

Rocky walked over to Roni and touched his nose to her leg. The young girl gasped and took a step back.

"He won't bite." Joe assured the girl. "Rocky is a very tame animal."

"Sorry." Roni said, taking another step back from the dog. "I just don't like dogs."

"See, told you my daughter was smart." Steve smiled. His smile was also fake, he knew something was bothering Roni. Something more than just her not liking dogs.

"Well I think he's a pretty cool dog." Nahele said, as he once again petted the dog. "Does he know any tricks?"

"Yeah." Joe said. "He can sniff out a bomb before it goes boom."

The small group grabbed Joe's luggage, than started walking through the crowded airport and went outside to Steve's truck. The three men all noticed that Roni walked as close to Steve as she could without actually standing on top of him. They also noticed that she kept giving Joe nervous side glances.

"So what's the plan for today?" Joe asked, as they all piled into the truck. Steve, Joe, and Rocky were sitting in the front. Nahele and Roni were in the back seat.

"We still have a few hours to kill till I have to take Roni to Five-0 so she can clean something." Steve replied. "What do you want to do?"

"It has been entirely too long since I've had s plate of Kamakono's shrimp jambalaya." The older man replied.

"How can you eat that?" Steve asked. "The smell of it burns a hole in my stomach."

"Not everyone is as delicate as you are, cupcake." Joe retorted.

Joe turned in his seat slightly so he could look at Roni. "What's your favorite shrimp, Roni?"

"Garlic and Lemon flavored." The teen responded. "But I haven't tried all of them yet."

"Do you like real spicy food?" Joe asked. He wasn't sure why the girl seemed nervous around him, but he was determined to win her over.

"Not sure, Sir. I never tried any before."

"Well your gonna try it now." Joe smiled.

"I wouldn't advise it, Roni." Steve chuckled. "I think Joe's stomach is lined with cast iron or something. Most normal human beings just were not meant to eat that toxic waste."

"Just ignore your Father." Joe told the teenager. "Everyone else does. Steve tells me you are quit the little artist."

"Yes Sir." Roni replied.

"That's great, I would love to some of your artwork while I'm here."

"Yes Sir."

Roni knew that her Dad would never let anyone near here whom he didn't trust, she knew that Joe would not hurt her. But his resemblance to her Uncle Philip was strong. And Rocky kept bringing back memories of Ace, the dog that her worst nightmare centered around.

As they headed towards Kamakono's shrimp truck, the three men talked and joked around. All three tried to bring Roni into the conversation, but her only contributions were one and two word answers. They could tell something was upsetting her, but they were not sure what.

Steve parked the truck and Joe looked at Nahele.

"Why don't you and Roni go order and grab us a table, you know what we usually have."

"Sure thing, Joe." Nahele replied. "Come on little Sister."

Nahele and Roni climbed out of the truck and left the two older men and Rocky alone.

"So, what's the secret to get your kid to like me?" Joe asked. "She seems scared of me."

"I can't figure it out." Steve admitted. "She seemed alright with the idea of you coming down. She even offered to give her room up so you and Nahele both could have rooms while you're here. But we decided to give the sofa to Nahele."

"It may be better if I were to stay at a hotel or something." Joe said. "They won't let Rocky stay, but I'm sure Danny wouldn't mind him staying there for a couple weeks."

"No." Steve replied. "You are Ohana, and I want you in Roni's life. We will figure this out."

 **Bluewaters99**

Nahele ordered four shrimp plates and coconut water, then they found an empty table and sat down.

"What do you think about Joe?" Nahele asked. "He's a pretty nice guy, isn't he?"

"He seems ok." Roni replied, looking down at the table.

"Rocky's pretty cool."

"I don't like dogs." Roni said quickly.

"What's not to like about dogs?" Nahele asked, getting worried about the younger teen. She still had not looked up from the table.

"I just don't like them." Roni said. "Now please let it drop."

Before Nahele could respond, Steve and Joe joined them. Joe was carrying two bowls, a small bag of dog food, and a bottle of water. He placed the bowls on the ground beside the table and poured water into one and food into the other.

"Here you go, boy." Joe said, petting the dog's head.

"It is good to see you again, Joe." Kamakono said, as he walked over carrying a tray loaded down with food and coconut water. "Who's your friend?"

"Hey, Kamakono." Joe greeted the man, as Kamakono placed their food and water onto the table. "This is Rocky."

"Fine looking dog." The native Hawaiian said.

Kamakono stood by the table for a few minutes, talking. Then he went back to work and the others ate.

"Roni." Joe said, "Would you like to try some of this? It's really good."

"No thank you, Sir." Roni replied, without looking at him. "I can smell it from here, and it does not smell appetizing. But thank you for the offer."

"See, my daughter knows better than to eat nuclear waste." Steve said.

"No she doesn't." Nahele said. "She eats your cooking."

Before Steve could reply, they heard a loud squeal. They all looked towards the sound and saw five-year-old Joanie running towards them. Mary and Deb were following at a much more sedate pace.

"Uncle Joe!" Joanie yelled, as she jumped into the man's lap. "You're here!"

"Hey there, Joanie." Joe smiled as he hugged the small girl. "It is so good to see you again."

He stood up, still holding the little girl, as Mary and Deb approached. He hugged and greeted both women, then they all sat down.

"Momma said you were staying till after Christmas." Joanie said.

"Your Momma was right." Joe confirmed.

"Wow!" The little girl exclaimed, when she saw Rocky standing beside Joe. "A doggie."

She slid from Joe's lap and knelt beside the dog, hugging him. "Who's doggie?"

"Mine." Joe smiled. "His name is Rocky."

"Hello Rocky." Joanie said, as she hugged the dog again. "I'm Joanie. We're gonna be good friends."

"Get away from that dog!" Roni exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. Then she glared at Joe and hissed "Leave her alone, you sick bastard. She's only a kid, you are not going to turn her into me. Leave her the hell alone."

She was finding it hard to catch her breath and was starting to sweat. She wasn't completely sure why she was so scared, why she feared for the little girl's safety. She just knew that she had to get Joanie away from the dog and away from her Uncle...no wait a minute…..that wasn't her Uncle. That was her Dad's friend.

"Roni." Steve said softly, as he slowly rose to his feet and slowly walked towards the girl. "Take it easy, Sweetheart."

Roni blinked a few times, trying to clear her head. The young teen felt her stomach churning and she quickly covered her mouth and ran from the group. Steve was right behind her.

"What's wrong with Roni, Momma?" Joanie asked as she climbed into the woman's lap. "Why did she yell at me?"

"I'm not sure Honey." Mary said. "But Roni didn't mean to scare you, and she didn't mean to be rude to Uncle Joe. She's just upset."

 **Bluewaters99**

Roni ran into an ally and stopped, just as her shrimp made its reappearance. When Steve reached the ally, he found his daughter bent over, vomiting and shaking.

He slowly walked over to her, trying not to spook her, and gently wrapped and arm around her thin frame. He held onto her for a few more moments, until the vomiting stopped. Then he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to wipe her mouth.

"I want to go home, Dad." She whispered, as silent tears fell from her eyes.

"Okay, Sweetheart." Steve said, as he wrapped her in a tight hug and held her close. "We'll go home."

He lead her to his truck, an arm wrapped around her waist. Once in the truck, he sent a quick text message to Joe, then started the truck and headed home. The entire trip, Roni stared out the window in complete silence.

Steve parked the truck in front of their house and killed the engine. He looked over at Roni, who was still staring out the window.

"Let's go inside, Roni." Steve said, keeping his voice soft and comforting.

Roni nodded, and slowly climbed out of the truck and followed her Dad to the house. Steve unlocked the front door and they walked in. Roni headed for the stairs, but Steve stepped in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We need to talk, Roni." He said.

"Not in the mood." Roni said, looking at the floor.

"We still need to talk." Steve said.

Roni glared at him and screamed. "Get the hell out of my way!"

She could feel the anger building up inside of her and she knew she was about to lose it again. She wanted to get upstairs to her room before it hit, before she lost it in front of her Dad again. He already wanted her to see a shrink. If she had another breakdown in front of him, he might force her to go.

"Calm down, Roni." Steve said, his voice even by firm. He could see the fear in her eyes and knew that she was about to have another breakdown. "Just take it easy and relax."

"Leave me alone!" Roni screamed, as she started hitting the man in the chest with her fists.

Steve quickly wrapped his arms around the girl, pressing her tightly to his body. Roni struggled hard, but Steve's grip was way to strong for her. She was trapped.

"Easy, Sweetheart." Steve cooed, as he continued to hold her. "Easy. Dad's here, you are safe. I am here, Baby. I am here and am not going anywhere."

After several minutes, Roni stopped struggling and started sobbing hard. It took another several minutes for the sobs to stop, and Steve finally released her.

Roni looked up, tears in her eyes. She was scared and confused.

"We still need to talk." Steve said.

Roni nodded, she really did want to talk to someone. She wanted to tell someone about the nightmare that had been terrorizing her for the past two years. She knew her Dad would not blame her for what happened. She knew her Dad would be there for her.

Steve guided her over to the sofa and they both sat down, facing each other.

"I'm sorry I shouted at Joanie and cursed at Mr. White and you." Roni said, her voice soft.

"It's okay, Sweetheart." Steve assured her, taking her hands into his. "Why did Joe and Rocky's arrival upset you so much?" head, even the same walk. And Rocky reminded me of Ace."

"Who's Ace?" Steve asked.

"I never celebrated my birthday, it's just another day. Uncle Philip never even told me happy birthday. Until my twelfth birthday, when he gave me a German Shepherd puppy. He told me that having a puppy would teach me responsibility and discipline."

Roni smiled and said, "I named him Ace, and we became very good friends. We were inseparable. For three months, we were happy."

Roni's smile disappeared and she squeezed her Dad's hands tighter.

"Then one morning, Uncle Philip had Ace chained to a tree. He told me that a true Marine had to be willing to do anything in order to complete a mission, and that any type of friendship was a liability.

He handed me a gun and told me to shoot Ace, but I couldn't. So Uncle Philip started kicking him, he was really hurting Ace. I was begging him to stop, to leave Ace alone. But he kept kicking him. Ace was howling and whining, and I just stood there pleading with Uncle Philip.

He told me that he was going to slowly beat Ace to death, that it would be a horrible and painful death. He told me that the only way to save Ace from that, was for me to shoot him and end his pain.

Ace was laying there in a puddle of blood whining and whimpering. I…..I couldn't stand to listen to him, to see him in so much pain. So I shot him."

Roni took a deep breath and the tears started falling again. Steve reached out to once again hug her, but she pulled away.

"There's more." She said. "I've been having the same dream ever since then. I dream about what happened, but the ending is different. In my dream, I don't kill Ace. I kill Uncle Philip. I shoot him, and I am smiling about it. Like I enjoyed it. Like I'm the same as he was, and the same as Coleman and Mom."

Tears once again started falling from the fourteen-year-old's eyes as she threw herself into her Dad's arms. "I'm sorry I'm so screwed up." She sobbed.

"You are not screwed up ,Sweetheart." Steve assured the girl, as he gently lifted her up and placed her in his lap. He hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head. "You are a very good and courageous kid who will overcome your past. It won't be a piece of cake, but I swear to you that it will be okay. We will get through this together."

After a while, Roni stopped crying. But did not try to pull away from her Dad's embrace. Steve continued to hold her, rocking slightly. Soon, he heard her breathing even out and knew that she was asleep. Steve scooted back and propped his feet up on the coffee table, gently shifting Roni in his lap to make her more comfortable. Then he continued to hold his daughter as she slept.

 **Bluewaters99**

Three hours later, Steve was sitting on the sofa. He had carried Roni to bed earlier and she was still asleep. He looked up when he heard the door opening, smiling when he saw Danny walk in.

"Hey Danny." He greeted, as the other man sat on the sofa beside him. "Miss me already?"

"Yeah, it's kinda boring without you at the office. No one has shot at me all day." Danny replied.

"The day's not over." Steve said.

Danny smiled at him. Then he asked. "Where's Roni?"

"Upstairs asleep." Steve replied. "I'm giving her a pass on today's chores, she really needs her rest."

Danny nodded and said, "Joe called me and told me what happened, did you find out what had Roni so spooked?"

"Yeah." Steve sighed, he told the other man what Roni had told him about her Uncle and about Ace. Danny listened in disgust

"How can someone do that to a little kid?" Danny asked.

"She cried herself to sleep." Steve said, as he felt his own eyes tearing up. "My little girl went through hell, and I was not there to protect her."

"You didn't know she existed, Babe." Danny reminded him. "What happened is not your fault."

"It is a Father's job to protect his children." Steve said, as a few tears rolled down his cheeks.

He jumped to his feet and angrily scrubbed a hand over his eyes trying to stop the tears.

"Babe, you can't protect someone if you don't know they need protection." Danny said, also standing up. "You may not have been in Roni's past, but you are here now."

"I don't know what I'm doing here, Danny." Steve admitted, as he turned to face him. "What if I make it worse? What if I really screw up Roni's life?"

Steve could look into the barrel of a loaded gun, being held by a psychopath, without flinching. Without showing a trace of emotion. But at that moment, he couldn't hide his emotions. Despite his best efforts, Steve started crying softly. He just felt so alone and lost.

Danny rushed forward and wrapped the taller man in a tight hug. Steve resisted at first.

"Don't be so stubborn." Danny said, as he hugged tighter. "Roni is upstairs, you do not need to be strong for her at this moment. You don't have to be strong for anyone at this moment, just relax and let it all out."

Steve finally returned the hug and cried onto the other man's shoulder. It felt good to not have to be so strong, even if it were just for a few moments. He knew that Danny would not judge him, would not think he was weak. He also knew that this would stay between them, Danny wouldn't tell anyone.

"You are an excellent Father." Danny assured the man, as he continued to hug him. "You are going an amazing job here. It will take time, but everything will be okay. You are not alone in this, I am here anytime you need a shoulder to cry on."

Steve continued to cry for a few more moments, then he released Danny and wiped a hand across his eyes. He looked embarrassed.

"Hey, you are not the first man to break down in front of a friend." Danny assured him. "Showing you are human does not make you weak."

"Thank you for being there for me, Danno." Steve said.

"Anytime, Babe. Anytime.

 **Tbc….**


	16. Chapter 16

Roni woke and noticed that it was dark outside her bedroom window, glancing at the clock on the nightstand; she saw that it was just after five in the morning. She had slept for a long time.

The young teen climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom, then returned to her room. She was well rested, and really wanted to go for a run. But she knew her Dad would not approve of her going out this early by herself, so instead she laid down in the floor and began to quietly perform sit ups.

As she exercised, Roni started thinking about everything that had happened the previous day. She had cursed at a man whom her Dad considered as his own second Dad. She had once again broken down in front of her Dad and bawled in his arms, after cursing and yelling at him. and yet, her Dad still loved her. Still wanted to be there for her and help her.

The young teenager rolled onto her stomach and switched from doing sit ups to doing pushups, as she continued to think about her Dad. She felt guilty about how she had acted, but she knew her Dad did not blame her. He knew she didn't mean to be so rude.

With a deep sigh, Roni sat up in the floor and came to a realization. Her Dad only wanted what was best for her, only wanted to help her. If he thought that talking to a shrink would help her, maybe it would. Maybe a shrink could help her sort through the tangled thoughts that were racing through her mind.

Roni continued to exercise for another hour; doing squats, windmills, and other exercises. By the time she was finished, a thin sheen of sweat covered her body and she felt better then she had in a long time. She figured that finally getting what happened to her two years ago off of her chest had helped.

The young teen heard movement from the hallway and opened the door, revealing her Dad standing there with his fist in the air ready to knock.

"Saw the light on." Steve smiled. then his expression turned serious. "Are you okay, Sweetheart? You look flushed."

"I'm fine, Dad." Roni smiled. "I've been exercising for the past hour."

"Well if you already exercised, then I guess you don't want to go for a swim." Steve said.

"I always want to go for a swim." Roni smiled.

"Then go change and I will meet you downstairs."

"Yes Sir, but can we talk for a minute first?" The smile disappeared from the girl's face.

"Sure, Roni." Steve said, as he entered the room and followed his daughter to the bed. They both sat down, facing each other.

"I am really sorry about yesterday." Roni said, trying to find the right words. She was looking down at her hands and her voice was hardly above a whisper.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Steve said, as he took her hands into his. "Normally, you calling Joe or me names like that and hitting me would earn you a very sore bottom. But what happened was not your fault, I could tell from looking into your eyes that you were not exactly in control of your actions."

"I wasn't." Roni admitted, looking up and into his eyes. "I knew Mr. White was not Uncle Philip, and I knew that Rocky was not Ace. But somewhere in my mind, they were connected. I can't really explain it. When I have these episodes, it's like someone else has control of my body, and it scares the crap out of me."

Roni took a deep breath and said. "I've decided that you may be right, that seeing a shrink might help. I'm still scared of going, but I'm willing to give it a try."

"I will set up an appointment." Steve replied. "I was not going to force you to go, I promised you that I wouldn't. But I was hoping that you would change your mind. I found a therapist who specializes in helping teenagers with pasts like yours. He's supposed to be the best, he comes highly recommended."

"I'm not making any promises." Roni said, "But I am willing to be open minded and try my best to be honest with him."

"That's all I can ask of you." Steve said. "I am very proud of you, Sweetheart. I know you're scared, but you are facing your fear and I am very proud of you."

"Dad, where's Mr. White and Nahele at?" Roni asked. "I really need to apologize to him. I mean, I know you said it wasn't my fault. But I was rude to him and I would like to explain things to him."

"They felt that it was best if they spent the night with Mary last night." Steve said, causing her to sigh and once again bow her head. She had ran off her Dad's family.

"Hey, it's okay." Steve said, as he pulled the girl into a tight hug. "It's not like they spent the night on the streets, Mary treats her guests right. She probably even fed and watered them."

"Do you think Mr. White can forgive me?" Roni asked. "He seemed like a real nice man."

"He might forgive you." Steve said. "If you stop referring to him as Mr. White. He's Joe, or you can call him Uncle Joe. I did when I was your age."

Roni smiled, as she pulled slightly away from her Dad and reached up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you for being an amazing Dad."

"Thank you for being an amazing daughter." Steve responded.

"I don't know about you, but I am ready for that swim." Roni said.

"I am too." Steve said, ruffling her hair and smiling at her. "Meet you downstairs."

 **Bluewaters99**

Sarah woke up and looked out her window, but it was still dark outside. That meant it was too early for her to get up. With a sigh, she tried to go back to sleep. But she couldn't, she was bored.

The six-year-old climbed out of bed and quietly walked into the hallway, everything was quite. Her Uncle Chin and Aunt Abby were still in bed asleep.

Sarah was about to go back to bed, when an idea hit her. A fun idea. She knew that she wasn't allowed to get out bed in the middle of the night just to watch tv, her tv time was limited. But if her Uncle and Aunt didn't know she was breaking the rules, then she wouldn't get into trouble.

With a huge smile on her face, the little girl went into the living room and turned the tv on, making sure the volume was really low. She knew how loud she could have it on and not wake the adults up, they had odd work hours sometimes and needed to sleep during the day sometimes. The little girl was flipping through the channels, when she found a movie with funny sounding music. It was kinda of an ahh cha cha cha sound. Sarah watched it for a couple minutes and smiled she saw two people walking through the woods. She liked movies about nature and animals.

The smile widened when she heard the cool music again. But the smile disappeared when the six-year-old watched in horror as a man in a mask stepped out from behind a tree and threw a large knife. The knife flew through the air and landed through the other man's chest. The man fell to his knees, then fell face first onto the ground.

The woman screamed, but then the masked man reached out and grabbed her face. He squeezed his hand, and the woman's face exploded. Sarah quickly jumped up and turned the tv off, then she stared at the black screen with her mouth hanging open.

Taking a deep breath, Sarah turned and walked back to her bedroom. The little girl was terrified. She wished she had never turned the tv on. The walk to her bedroom felt like the longest walk of her young life.

As soon as she entered her room, she flipped the light on and looked around. Then she ran and jumped into the bed as fast as she could, pulling the covers up over her head. She was scared that the masked man would come after her.

"Don't be silly, Sarah." She softly scolded herself. "What's on tv isn't real. Remember Uncle Chin said that the tv isn't real. Only news and stuff like that is real. But not movies."

Sarah started to calm down, slowly convincing herself that the masked man was not real. After several minutes, she drifted off to sleep.

 **Bluewaters99**

Chin woke up, and laid in bed trying to figure out what woke him. But everything was silent. Chin figured it was nothing, but he carefully climbed out of bed as to not wake up Abby and walked into the hallway and down the hall to Sarah's room.

He was almost to her room when he heard a loud pitched scream come from the little girl's room. Chin quickly rushed into the room, noticing that the light was on. Sarah was sitting in the middle of the bed, screaming.

"Sarah, Honey." Chin said, as he quickly crossed the room and sat beside his niece. He wrapped her in a hug and scanned the room with his eyes, looking for any signs of danger.

Abby rushed into the room and also sat on the bed, reaching out and gently rubbing a hand over the crying girl's arm.

"Don't let him hurt me!" Sarah cried.

"Don't let how hurt you, Sarah?" Chin asked, sharing a worried look with Abby.

The woman quickly stood up and opened the closet door, thoroughly searching the closet. Then she knelt beside the bed and looked under it. She stood up and glanced at the opened door.

"I was watching the door before she screamed." Chin said, as he gently picked the little girl up and placed him in his lap. "No one left."

Abby sighed in relief, then once again sat on the bed and rubbed the little girl's shaking back as she clung to her Uncle Chin.

"It's okay, Sarah." Chin tried to soothe the child. "It's okay. You are safe, no one is here."

"H…..he was by the b….bed." Sarah stammered out.

Chin gently pried his niece's hands from around himself and resettled her so that they were facing each other, while she was still sitting in his lap.

"No one is here, Sarah." Chin said in a calm voice. "Aunt Abby checked, there is no one in here. You are safe, it was just a bad dream."

Sarah took a few deep breaths and stopped crying, but she was still scared. The dream felt so real, the man in the mask looked so real.

"I've got an idea." Chin smiled at the little girl. "How about you sleep the rest of night with Aunt Abby and me?"

"I'd like that." Sarah sniffled.

"Come on, Little One." Chin said, standing up while still holding her in his arms.

"I'll grab your bunny and pillow." Abby said, as she grabbed the stuffed toy and pillow.

"Thank you Aunt Abby."

"You are very welcome, Sweetie."

Chin carried the little girl into the master bedroom, and laid her down in bed. He crawled into bed on her left side, and Abby crawled into bed on her right side. The woman placed the girl's pillow on the bed and handed her the stuffed bunny.

"See, Sarah." Chin said. "I am on one side and Aunt Abby is on the other. There is no way anyone can hurt you, you are safe."

Sarah reached out and took one of Chin's hands and one of Abby hands, then she closed her eyes and started drifting off to sleep. She felt guilty. She was only scared because she broke a rule, and her Aunt and Uncle were being so nice to her. She knew they would be mad and disappointed if they found out the truth.

 **Bluewaters99**

Roni swam beside her Dad for several minutes, but was soon getting tired. The previous workout combined with the excursion of the swim caused her to swim back to the beach. She walked over to the chairs and grabbed her towel, drying off with it.

She sensed someone watching her and turned around, seeing Joe White standing there. The man was looking out into the ocean where Steve was still swimming.

"He always did love the water." Joe said. "His Mom used to call her little Guppy when he was a small boy. Of course his Dad and I always said he was more like a shark."

"Mr. White." Roni said. "I want to apologize to you for the way I behaved yesterday."

Joe looked at her and smiled. "Make a deal with you, Munckin. I will forget what happened and we can start over, if you never call me Mr. White again. It's Uncle Joe, or just Joe. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal." Roni returned the smile.

"Hello young lady." Joe said, extending his hand. "My name is Uncle Joe."

"Hello Uncle Joe, my name is Roni." Roni said, shaking his hand.

"Nahele's inside starting breakfast. Why don't you shower and change, then come on into the kitchen. I'll tell you about the time your Dad decided to steal a cop car and park it in the bottom of the ocean."

"Seriously?" Roni asked.

"Seriously." Joe said. "I've got a million stories."

"And I would love to hear all of them." Roni replied. "Did you bring Rocky? I owe him an appolgy too."

"I wasn;t exactly sure how you would react to seeing Rocky." Joe said. "So I left him with Mary."

Roni sighed and hung her head, feeling guilty.

"Hey, it's okay." Joe smiled at her, as he gently used a fingertip to lift her chin up. "I left him in good hands, Joanie is spoiling him rotten. He slept in her bed last night."

 **Bluewaters99**

Fifteen minutes later, Roni walked into the kitchen. Joe was standing at the small table dicing onions and Nahele was sitting at the table and stirring a bowl of pancake batter.

"Hey Nahele." Roni greeted the older teen.

"Hey, Little Sister." Nahel smiled, as he stood up and hugged her. Roni returned the hug, then they both sat down at the table.

"Dad still swimming?" Roni asked.

"Yep." Joe replied. "So now we can talk about him." He slid an avocado, a knife, and a small bowl towards the girl. "But you have to work for the story."

"Diced or sliced?" Roni asked.

"Sliced."

"Steve was thirteen." Joe started the story. "A new girl named Emily Prescott had just moved in down the road, and Steve was smitten. He wanted to impress her, to prove that he was a rebel. So he asked her out on a date, then stole a police cruiser.

Steve knew how to drive, but not something as fast and powerful as the cruiser. He was driving on the docks, then he lost control of the car and drove it off of the docks and into the ocean. The car sank like a stone, with both teens still inside.

Despite the lack of common sense he showed when he stole the car, Steve has always been a fast thinker and he was able to get both of them out and to the surface. Which wasn't an task since young Emily couldn't swim at all and was very panicky.

I was with Steve's Dad when he got the call, man he was really ticked at his son. We arrived on the docks and that little squirt was acting all macho, like what he did was nothing.

John gave him a look that would have scared the most hardened criminals and asked him what the hell was he thinking. Now Steve was a fast thinking, but his mouth works faster than his brain.

He stood up straight and said in a very calm voice, ' _I was trying out a new way to fish, you want to try it?"_ John's response was to grab his soon by an ear and drag him to his car, while using his free hand to swat his butt hard. Him and Emily never had another date."

Nahele and Roni were both laughing, when Steve walked into the kitchen. His towel was draped over his shoulders.

"What's so funny?" Steve asked.

"Uncle Joe was just telling us about your one and only date with Emily Prescott." Roni said with a smirk.

"Joe." Steve glared at the older man.

"Emily wasn't the only girl who Steve got into trouble trying to impress." Joe said, completely ignoring the younger man. "When he was fourteen, he was arrested for breaking and entering. All because a cute girl asked him too."

"Joe." Steve's glare hardened.

"That's a good story." Nahele said with a smile.

"Joe." Steve said again, still glaring.

"Yes Steven?" Joe asked. Not fazed by the glare at all.

Steve sighed and said. "I'm going to shower." Then with a defeated huff, he walked out of the kitchen.

"What did he break into?" Roni asked.

"Let me start at the beginning." Joe said. "Steve's girlfriend, Sally, had a bad habit of writing in her diary during school hours. She got caught and one of her teachers confiscated the diary. She was told that the diary would only be given to her parents, and she received a note asking her parents to come for a conference.

Now Sally knew that her parents would be upset, and she didn't want to be punished. So she talked Steve into breaking into the school that night to retrieve the diary. But he got caught and arrested. John made him stay in a jail cell all night. When John picked him up the next morning, the boy was terrified. He was promising never to do anything illegal again as long as he lived."

"My Dad was a juvenile delinquent. Roni said. "Who would have guessed?"

"Joe has more stories." Nahele smiled. "A lot more."

"No he doesn't." Steve said, as he returned to the kitchen. "And besides, he's old and confused. He barley remembers his own name at times."

"How about another story, Uncle Joe?" Roni asked with a smile.

"Sure." Joe said. "There was the time…."

"Joe!" Steve growled with a glare.

"You know neither your glare nor your growl has any effect on me, Son." Joe said. "Now be quite."

Steve sighed, but said nothing.

Joe on the other hand, had a lot to say. He regaled the teens with stories of Steve's childhood and teenage years.

 **Bluewaters99**

Later that morning, Roni was sitting at her Dad's desk doing math problems. The young teen was getting more and more frustrated with the problems.

She looked up when the door opened and Joe came in, Rocky was right beside him.

"Hey Uncle Joe." Roni smiled, glad for the interruption. "Hey, Boy." She stood up and then knelt in front of the dog. The dog nuzzled his nose under her hand and she started petting him. She scratched behind his ears, and the dog started wagging his tail.

"Guess that means you forgive me." Roni said. Rocky responded by placing a large paw on her shoulder and nuzzling his nose her nose. The teenager laughed and said. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Down Rocky." Joe said, the dog immediately obeyed and sat down beside Joe's feet.

"Good boy." Joe praised the dog and petted his head. Then he looked at Roni and said. "I was given strict instructions that you were only to have a very short break. Then you have to return to the math. You have another half an hour before lunch."

Roni sighed, then stood up and walked back over to the desk and sat down.

"Need any help?" Joe asked, as he sat down in a chair in front of the desk. "I'm pretty good at math."

"I'm not." Roni admitted with a sigh.

Joe looked at the problem she was working on and then began to explain how to solve it. For the next half hour, he patiently helped her understand the problems.

The door opened and Steve walked in. "How's it going?" He asked.

"Great." Roni smiled. "Uncle Joe is an excellent math teacher."

"I just wanted to let you know that I am leaving on a case, won't be back till late." He looked at Joe and asked. "Can you keep an eye on her?"

"Of course." Joe said. "We were going to grab a bite to eat, then take Rocky to the park."

"Sounds like fun." Steve smiled. "Remember Roni, you are to be back here at three fifteen to start cleaning. I won't be here, but I want you two to clean out our offices. Dust everything, vacuum, and take out the trash. It shouldn't take long. "

"Yes Sir." Roni said.

They talked for a few more moments, then Steve left.

"Come on, Munchkin." Joe said, as he stood up. "I have a taste for Kamakono's shrimp."

"Sounds good." Roni said.

Joe, Roni, and Rocky walked out of the building and over to Joe's rental truck, they climbed into the truck and Joe started driving.

"If it's alright with you." Joe said, as he drove. "Rocky and I planned on staying at your house tonight."

"I'd like that." Roni smiled.

"Good." Joe said. "But problem is, you will probably be stuck with Nahele also."

"Oh no!" Roni said in mock horror. "What did I ever do to deserve that?"

Joe laughed, then said. "I would love to see your artwork tonight, everyone has bragged about how talented you are. "

"Sure, I've got four full sketch pads already." Roni replied.

"You did not inherit your art skills from your Father." Joe said. "A few years ago, when we were both still in the Seals, Steve drew a map. We were supposed to arrive in a terrorist camp in Afghanistan, but instead we ended up in the Alaskan wilderness. Almost got mauled by a polar bear.

Roni laughed, and Joe said. "I'm not joking."

"Remind me not to let him draw me any maps." Roni said.

Joe parked the truck and they got out, grabbing Rocky's food and bowls from the back of the truck, then they ordered their meals and sat at a table. Roni feed and watered Rocky, and petted his head as he ate.

"He is a sweet dog." She said.

Before Joe could respond, Flippa arrived at the table with their order. They talked for a few moments, then Flippa returned to work.

"Here." Joe said, as he picked his plate up. "Try some."

"Thanks." Roni smiled, as she scooped a little bit out into her own plate. She only wanted to try a bite or two, it smelled really spicy.

Roni took a bite, then really wished she hadn't. Her mouth was fire and she felt her eyes watering, and she had only taken a small bite. The young girl quickly grabbed her coconut water and downed the entire bottle.

"How can you eat that?" She asked, her voice husky. "That stuff should be weaponized. It's toxic."

Joe laughed and said. "That was Steve's reaction as well."

 **Tbc!**

Hope you like it, I will post more as soon as I can.


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